(Wow, another interview?) S-T.net has been busy trying to give you what you ask for – and a lot of you want some up-close-and-personal interviews. This one is with sleepyhead, the project headed by Takeru (ex. SuG) and run by only Takeru.

We know you’ve been keeping up with our news articles on the subject, but we’re sure you’ve had questions upon questions about how and why sleepyhead happened in the first place. We can’t answer all of your questions, but we’re confident we got Takeru to answer at least some of them in our interview with him on his album “DRIPPING,” which drops on June 20 (pun intended).

Read until the end for a sweet tidbit of news that concerns you as an overseas fan, as well as a special prize!

sleepyhead on “DRIPPING”

-First off, what made you decide on the name “sleepyhead” for your solo project?Takeru: Even in the real world, I won’t wake up from my dreams. I’m always dreaming. But I’ve heard from non-Japanese people that “sleepyhead” is kind of a cutesy name. (laughs)

-Yeah, we guess so. (laughs) Takeru: Also, there’s an artist named Passion Pit that I really like. They have a song called “Sleepyhead.” I really like that song. That was partly why I decided on the name “sleepyhead” for my project. And after thinking about it a bit, I realized that—even after the band I’d been in for 10 years disbanded—I’m still not going to wake up from my dreams.

-Is that the reason why you started sleepyhead?Takeru: Yes.

-It must be hard doing everything on your own.Takeru: It is. I forgot about how hard some things were…like answering e-mails…(laughs)

-Has anything turned out to be more difficult than you originally thought?Takeru: Communication with the hardware side of things—sending data and turning it into CD’s—was really difficult. Like, what data I want them to make it with, the type of CD, how many centimeters I want the CD to be, how many pixels…

-That sounds like it took a long time.Takeru: It took a long time. Even adding the credits to the CD jacket took a long time. It has also been difficult to write news for press releases.

-You’re writing the news yourself?Takeru: Yeah, I’m writing it. I wanted to see what it was like to do the work that other people normally did for me. When I start to ask other people to help me again, I’ll truly appreciate their work.
I also don’t have to worry about burdening others right now. No matter how hard things get, it’s all on me. Before, I would be concerned about putting too much work on others.
Being this busy makes me want to put effort into playing a show overseas now more than ever. I’ve been preparing for an overseas tour.

-We’ve heard there are possible plans for a Europe tour…are those plans finalized yet? Takeru: No, not yet. The event organizers over there are a bit scared to take me on. Since it’s only me, they’re worried about how many people will actually show up to my concerts.
Part of the reason, I think, is that I haven’t joined music subscription services like Spotify yet. That will change on June 20, when I release “DRIPPING.” If a lot of people listen to my music on Spotify and leave good reviews, and keep up with sleepyhead’s Facebook page, it will be more possible. With Facebook, event organizers will be able to see how many fans come from certain countries.

-You have a lot of followers on Twitter and views on YouTube, though… Takeru: That’s not enough to convince them, it seems.

-Do you think it’s fair to say you keep your overseas fans (as well as Japanese fans) in mind while creating things as sleepyhead? Takeru: I think I’ve always done that [even before sleepyhead]. I studied English little by little, and our Facebook was constantly updated in English. I also speak English in the videos I upload on there.
I don’t want to draw a line between “Japanese fans” and “overseas fans.” Everyone is the same. A lot of people only focus on Japan because that’s where the music market is best for them, but I want to focus a little bit on everywhere.

-Where do you want to go overseas in particular? Both as sleepyhead and personally. Takeru: Personally, I want to go to Egypt and Turkey. As sleepyhead, I’m looking into touring Europe and South America. I’ve toured Europe before, and I want to see the sights there again. I want to see people who have been supporting me even that far away from Japan.

-What about America? Takeru: America’s too big, and my fans are too spread out. It would be difficult to pull off a successful tour there right now.

-Turning to music talk: what kind of sound can we hear on “DRIPPING?” Takeru: I’ve always liked music you can dance to, whether it be by a band or EDM. I like catchy music that’s a little dark.

-We think you can hear those elements on “DRIPPING.” Takeru: I think my sound has gotten a little darker and closer to EDM than when I was in a band.

-Your previous band’s concept was “heavy positive rock,” correct? There’s a strongly positive image there, but “DRIPPING” has some darker songs. How do you think fans will react? Takeru: It is a little dark, but I’ve just altered the amount of darkness. In my band, it was maybe 70% brighter songs and 30% darker songs. In sleepyhead, it’s the opposite. It’s 70% shadow and 30% light. The lyrics usually end on a positive note, but there’s more darkness and pain in the music itself.
In terms of my previous band, “Howling Magic” and “Sakura Ame” are songs that I wrote. Even “LOVE SCREAM PARTY” was a bit like that; most of the song was poppy, but the melody was a bit sad. I think I’m better at writing sad melodies. Since there were five of us in the band, most songs would end up poppy. Now that I’m on my own, I can focus on the kinds of melodies I’m good at.

-What song on “DRIPPING” do you really want fans to listen to? Takeru: All of them. Seriously, all of them. I wrote more songs than are featured on the album, actually.

-Right! We heard you wrote at least 40 songs? Takeru: Yes, I made demos of at least 40 songs. I thought about it over and over before deciding which songs to put on the album. Even then, I fully recorded more songs than the ones on “DRIPPING.” It was after recording was finished that I would decide, “No, not this one,” and not include it on the album.

-Do all of the songs on “DRIPPING” follow a set theme or a concept? Takeru: No, there really isn’t a concept. “DRIPPING,” is like, you know, drip coffee, but with the things inside my head. They come out in drops. It’s happening right now, so that’s why I chose “DRIPPING” instead of “DRIP.” I’m not thinking about the end result when I put out my songs – they drip out as they are, in drops. I didn’t fix them up or try to make them nice.

-So, how did you choose the songs to include on “DRIPPING” in the end? Takeru: By feeling. With 40 songs to choose from, I couldn’t think it over too much. I naturally decided, “I want this song, and this song, and this song…”
I guess I did have the image of me making a comeback after my break from music when I chose the songs, though. “MY FORTUNE FADED” is about how my fate turned completely black, and then in “Yamikumo”–“blind”–not being able to see the future ahead of me. Then in “Kekkyoku,”–“finally”–I decide to try again. I thought about that progression when choosing the songs for “DRIPPING.”
I think “Meitei” describes how I feel right now. It’s the result of me deciding to try again and show who I am to the world.

-How did fans react to the “Meitei” music video? Takeru: They were really surprised. I think there’s a lot packed into this song. It has some EDM elements, some Visual kei elements, some darkness, and even some K-pop elements. It’s also a little sexy, and there’s just a bit of guitar in there. It’s like a mash-up of all of the music I listen to. This is who I am right now.

-Did you play and record the guitar parts by yourself? Takeru: No, I asked other people to play those parts. I did the vocals.

-Do you find it more difficult to write music or write lyrics? Takeru: This time around, writing the lyrics took more time. It was a while before my heart and my mind were ready to write them. Arranging the songs was also difficult. I wrote all of the music and lyrics myself, but I asked six different people to do the arrangements for different songs. That meant I had to talk to everyone while also keeping a balance with the sound. But thanks to that, I was able to mix in elements from different music genres into my songs. I’m glad I decided to take on that challenge.

-It must have been hard to communicate what you want to six different people. Takeru: It was. It took a really long time. I spent so much time talking to each of them.

-How long did it take to complete the music for “DRIPPING” from start to finish? Takeru: It’s been six months since I created the initial demos, but three months since I decided that I was really going to do this and started to work to complete it. I rushed like mad to finish it. In the end, I thought, “Wow, I actually can finish it in this amount of time!” (laughs)

-In the beginning, did you want to quit music altogether? Takeru: I did.

-What made you decide to keep going? Takeru: There were a lot of problems [in my previous band], and it was disappointing to me that even though I started music purely because I loved it, my band ended for such strange reasons. That feeling of frustration that made me want to start again. Even after the band was over, sometimes I would see updates from people that became friends through listening to our music. That made me really happy. It also gave me the strength to try again.

-What are your goals from here on out? Takeru: I want to go on a world tour. It’s not just a “maybe someday,” kind of thing. I’m actively working towards that goal. That’s why I think joining music subscription services like Spotify is really important to me. So [when my music is available there] tell all of your friends about it! (laughs)
I’m thinking of making Spotify-only songs, but it’s just a thought right now. I want to include English and even Spanish lyrics in my songs, if only in the chorus. Maybe I could make an English or Spanish version of just the main chorus and release that as a Spotify-only version.

-We think that’s a good idea! Are you studying Spanish? Takeru: No, it’s a little too difficult for me, so I think I’ll only use it in songs.

-Are you still studying English? Takeru: It’s less that I’m studying it and more that I’m speaking it from time to time.

-How well can you speak it? Takeru: I can more or less express what I’m thinking. More or less. English is difficult. But I think I can do things like concert MC’s in English without a problem. Maybe I’ll try to sing in English after all…

-Are you confident in your pronunciation, too? Takeru: No, it’s hard. (laughs) But I think it’s important to speak it as much as possible. You won’t get better if you don’t talk. I think K-pop artists do a good job of that. They speak Japanese and English as much as they can. It’s a way to express love for that culture. I want to be more like that.

-You seem to respect K-pop artists a lot. Takeru: I do. I think they’re very professional.

-Are there any artists you want to collaborate with? Takeru: We’ve entered an age where you can create music with artists even if they’re in another country, so I want to try that. Like with a rapper. I also want to collaborate with illustrators; I know of a good one in South Korea.

-Do you think those are possibilities right now? Takeru: Maybe not now, but once I start touring and meeting people that live in those countries, then I can make some progress. I think the best way for me to get noticed by them right now is to sing in their native language.

-Switching gears a bit – recently, you created sleepyhead’s fan club S.A.C.T using funds from a Campfire campaign. Your original goal was to raise 3 million yen (around $27,390 USD), but you ended up raising over 10.2 million yen (around $93,126 USD). Did you expect to raise such a large amount of money? Takeru: No, I didn’t think it would raise that much. I’m grateful to my fans.

-Some of the reward packages included events like a fan interview with you. How did that go? Takeru: It was refreshing to be interviewed by fans.

-What kinds of questions did they ask you? Takeru: Things like, “Why did your band break up?” Thanks to those kinds of rewards, though, I was able to start up S.A.C.T. I’m in the process of making a music game for them. I want to do things that normal fan clubs can’t do.

-In normal fan clubs, you can get access to special contents or fan club tickets for concerts, but S.A.C.T is also different in that it has missions, correct? It’s like fans are more like street team members. Takeru: That’s what I’m aiming for. They’re my agents.

-Fans must be happy to feel like they’re actively helping you out. Takeru: Yeah, especially since I don’t have any staff. I’m asking my fans for help.

-Finally, please give a message to your fans and our readers at S-T.net. Takeru: Right now, I’m combining music, fashion, and culture and showing that all in my music videos. I also have plans to make my clothing available to overseas fans. I want to go out into the world not only with my music, but also with my culture and fashion. It will take a lot of effort especially since I have no staff, so I want everyone to help out as much as they can.
Also, if any Korean event organizers are reading this, I’m waiting for your offers! (laughs)

sleepyhead will have a YouTube live to celebrate the release of “DRIPPING” on June 20! Details on the exact time are TBA, but keep up with sleepyhead on Facebook, Twitter, or their official website to stay as up to date as we are.

We’re giving away an autograph board signed by Takeru to one lucky reader! Enter using one or all of the entry methods available on our Rafflecopter by June 9 to have a chance!

A while ago, you readers suggested that we introduce the new and upcoming band SARIGIA. Not only have we done that – we also managed to land an interview with them! In this interview, you’ll find out how the band formed, what their goals are as a band, and more. Read until the end to find out how to win a special prize.

An Introduction to SARIGIA

-Let’s start off with member introductions.Asuka: I’m Asuka on vocals.Natsu: I’m Natsu, the guitarist.Shoma: I’m Shoma, the bassist.Mizuki: I’m Mizuki on drums.

-SARIGIA has been active since the beginning of 2018, but when did the band initially form?Mizuki: We announced the band’s formation on December 1st, 2017.

-How did you all come together to form the band?Mizuki: Natsu and I decided to play in a band together, and then we invited Asuka and Shoma.

-Did you all know each other prior to forming the band?Mizuki: Natsu and I knew each other, yeah.Asuka: I didn’t know the others before joining.

-What was your first impression of each other?Asuka: I thought Shoma seemed like a really nice guy.

-Is he actually a nice guy?Asuka: Yeah, he is. (laughs)

-What made you want to start SARIGIA? What kind of band do you want to be?Mizuki: We want to be a cool band. We want to express beauty and raw emotion.

-Do you have a concept?Asuka: Not in particular.

-Where did the name “SARIGIA” come from?Asuka: It’s the first letter from each of the 7 Deadly Sins, but we’ve changed the “L” from “lust” into “R.”

-What sorts of goals do you have as a band?Mizuki: Well, we’re not doing this to just make money. We don’t like bands that do that.Shoma: It’s not something you’re supposed to say, but that’s the one thing we absolutely don’t want to do. We want to do what we think is fun.

-So, what do you think is fun? What do you want to do as a band?Mizuki: Dark and cool music.

-Is that the kind of music you listen to?Asuka: Yeah, but we listen to a bit of everything.Natsu: I like DIR EN GREY.Shoma: I listen to a variety of music. I love DIR EN GREY, but I also like bright and poppy music. The members want to play more heavy music, so that’s what I’m focusing on now.Mizuki: I listen to a lot of Western music. I also listen to dubstep, like Skrillex.Asuka: My taste in music is also varied. What inspired me to start doing music was Japanese rock and pop, like Bump of Chicken. I wasn’t really the type to listen to music.

-Then what made you want to join a band?Asuka: When I was in school, my friends showed me some live music footage, and I thought, “Wow, that’s cool.” I didn’t want to try it myself at first, but that feeling grew. It started from a simple feeling.

-Does the music you listen to have a big influence on SARIGIA’s music?Mizuki: Not really, but I do keep overseas music in mind when I write songs.

-Is there any specific band you can compare SARIGIA’s sound to?Mizuki: Memphis May Fire.

-What kind of lyrics do you write? Are they based on your personal experiences?Asuka: They’re not so much based on my own experiences as me telling a story.

-Let’s talk a bit about your first single, “RUIN.” What kind of concept is it based on?Natsu: Ruins.Mizuki: It’s about reducing the current state of Visual kei to ruins.

-Why do you want to do that?Mizuki: Everyone just copies each other. It’s not interesting anymore. There aren’t any cool bands anymore, so we want to be a cool band.

-What makes SARIGIA stand out from other Visual kei bands?Natsu: A lot of foreign fans come to our shows. We get a lot of messages from fans on social media, too.

-You’ve also released a venue-limited single. Releases like that are a bit difficult for overseas fans to get their hands on…Natsu: But international fans that come to our shows can buy copies for their friends…Asuka: Those songs will eventually be released on an album, so please wait until then.Mizuki: It’s hard to sell CD’s lately.

-Is that why you have some of your songs exclusively on YouTube?Mizuki: Yeah, we’ll release something else around summertime, probably.

-Can we ask why you’ve disabled comments on those uploads?Natsu: We don’t want people to be influenced by other people’s comments. We want you to listen and create your own impression.

-How would you describe a SARIGIA show to someone who’s never seen you before?Mizuki: We can’t really explain it. It’s an exciting type of show. But you can’t really understand unless you come see us.

-And for fans who aren’t able to see your shows live…?Mizuki: We’ll upload live footage.

-SARIGIA isn’t currently with a label or management company. That means you’re doing everything on your own, right?Mizuki: Yes. I do the recording, mixing, and mastering on my own.

-What are some of the benefits of that? Some of the difficulties?Natsu: One benefit is that we can do what we want.Mizuki: One difficulty is that we get cheated. People just take our money.

-We’ve noticed that Asuka has a lot of English on his Instagram account.Asuka: Yeah, I mostly write in English on there. I’m studying a bit. Recently, I get messages from fans in English every day. There are times when I can’t understand what they’re trying to tell me. Sometimes I get around 15 messages a day. There are some fans that will put what they want to say into Google Translate for me, but there are still messages that I can’t understand.

-Has your English improved since you started studying?Asuka: A little, but there’s still a lot that I don’t understand.

-How about the other members? How’s your English?Natsu: I’m not good at English.

-When you post on social media in English, are you doing it with your overseas fans in mind?Natsu: I just do it for show, honestly. But I do use more English on Instagram since there seem to be more overseas fans using Instagram. We really have a lot of overseas fans.

-Do you want to play overseas someday?All: Yeah, we want to.

-Where do you want to go?Natsu: America! Maybe at a rock fest.

-Why America?Natsu: Because there’s more freedom in rock there.Shoma: In the “RUIN” music video, the Statue of Liberty makes an appearance.*Natsu: We’d also like to go to Europe. We hear that Visual kei is more popular there.
*Editor’s Note: You can see a glimpse of it at around 1:50 into the “RUIN” PV.

-What are your plans for the rest of 2018?Mizuki: We’ll host an event show on August 28 at Shibuya REX.

-Finally, please give a message to your fans and our readers at S-T.net.Asuka: If you’re reading this and hearing about SARIGIA for the first time, I hope you’ve found us interesting and give our music a listen.Natsu: We want to go overseas someday, so listen to our music a lot!Shoma: If you happen to be in Japan for travel or something else, come see SARIGIA live.Mizuki: If you’re reading this, listen to our music!!

If you’re in Japan, definitely check them out live at the show they’ll host on August 28 at Shibuya REX. Check out their official homepage for details.

We’re giving away one signed autograph board as a freebie to one lucky reader. Enter using one or all of the Rafflecopter entry methods by June 8 to have a shot at winning!

umbrella is a band that you may be familiar with for different reasons – maybe you’re into a darker side of Visual kei. Maybe you followed vocalist Yui from his previous band, Loki. Or maybe you were one of the lucky few to see them perform at Anime North or Otafest in Canada. If you’re hearing about umbrella for the first time – well, you should get to know them.

In our first interview with umbrella, members spill about their beginnings, their view on the Visual kei industry as a whole, and details of their first full album being released on May 30, “Darwin” (which you should most definitely pre-order right now).

Read until the end to find out how to win a special prize!

Vo. Yui

-Since this is our first interview with umbrella, could you start by introducing yourselves?Yui: I’m Yui on vocals and guitar.Shu: I’m Shu on guitar.Hal: I’m Hal, the bassist.Sho: I’m Sho, the drummer.

-How did you come together to form umbrella?Yui: I was in another band before umbrella—Loki—and I started this as kind of a sub-project. I had another guitarist and drummer at the time, but that’s also when I met Hal. Then umbrella started up as a full-fledged band. A lot of our fans at first were also fans of Loki. We lost the original drummer and guitarist within our first year. A little after that, Shu joined us. Finally, Sho joined the band and completed the line-up we still have today.

-So, how long have you had this current line-up?Sho: I joined the band in 2012, so it’s been about 6 years.Yui: As a band altogether, this is our 9th year.

-Does that feel like a long time to you?Hal: I’m not sure. When you put it into numbers, it seems like a long time. There aren’t a lot of bands now that last this long. But personally, I think that because we’ve just been doing things that we want to do, it doesn’t feel like a lot of time has passed.Yui: Like Hal said, it doesn’t feel like a long time has passed because we’ve just been doing what we want to.
I think that today’s music industry expects a lot from bands in a really short amount of time. They want you to produce results almost immediately. They set certain goals for you to meet in the span of a year, like releases and tours. It’s not a lot of time.
umbrella isn’t that kind of band. I don’t think you’re honestly pursuing music if you quit within a year or two. But to me, umbrella is a part of my life. Hard times in your everyday life can become fodder for your music, you know?

-So, you don’t follow the same pace as other bands, and you’re not trying to copy anyone’s style. We think there are a lot of bands lately that try to copy each other.Yui: There are a lot, yeah.Hal: We feel that way, too. Japan is a country of creators, and I think a lot of its citizens tend to copy others’ completed works.
Japanese people don’t like to be disliked. They don’t like to stand out. I think a lot of Visual kei bands feel that way, too. As long as they mimic someone that’s popular, they won’t be disliked.
We’re not saying this makes us better or worse than others, but umbrella’s way of thinking is different.Yui: In the end, even if you copy something good, you won’t end up with something original. I think we’ve made it this long as a band because we’ve been doing only what we want. We haven’t swayed in our beliefs. If you go along saying, “Let’s try to be more like so-and-so next time,” you’ll start to lose sight of what you want to do.
This whole cycle of, “Let’s do this for the first half the year and this for the second half of the year” might work for some bands, but not for us. The fact that we don’t work at that pace is what makes us stand out. To be honest, I think our pace is the normal one. I think it’s the music industry that’s messed up.

Gt. Shu

-We got the sense from your live show that the individual members aren’t the focus of an umbrella concert – the whole atmosphere is. Sho: Yeah, I get that.Hal: I’m glad you felt that way.Yui: We played a few songs that we haven’t played in a while.

-You played some of the songs* that will be featured as remakes on your new album coming out on May 30, “Darwin,” correct?Hal: Yes, we played two of those songs: “Samidare” and “Yoru no Curtain.”*Editor’s note: This interview was conducted after umbrella’s show at the end of April.

-How did those remake songs turn out? Do they sound completely different from the original?Shu: I think they sound more similar to how we play them live. The guitar sounds that way, anyway.Yui: They’re different from the original version overall, regardless of merit. I never considered the original version of “Samidare” to be bad. I like how it encompassed our first intentions as a band—since it was our first single. It’s a good song with a lot of passion and emotion.
I wasn’t sure at all if we would be able to further improve it by remaking it. After recording it with everyone, though, I realized that we made it something entirely new—not necessarily an improvement of the original. The sound quality improved a lot, and the changes in musical phrases that we made changed the entire expression and meaning of “Samidare.”
As for “Yoru no Curtain,” I think created a new version of the original. It’s completely different.

-How do you think fans will react to such dramatic changes?Yui: I wonder. They are pretty different.Hal: I want people who have the original singles and the new album to be glad to own both. Or, for fans who don’t have the original versions, I want the “Darwin” versions to make them wonder how the originals sound. I want them to enjoy the differences.

-Do you think you can see umbrella’s growth reflected in these remakes?All: [in English] Yes.Yui: I mainly write and record all the music in umbrella. So, I’ve been recording all the members parts for 8 years—6 years for Sho. I understand the limits of their playing abilities. I think that through the process of working together so long, we’ve created some musical phrases that are completely unique to umbrella. I can recognize when something is new and ours.
It has gotten to the point where it’s not necessary to directly tell the members how I want them to play something. They know what kind of sounds I like, or how certain phrases should sound with certain moods. I especially understand that since I handle the recording. I know each member’s good habits and bad habits, and how to work with those. I can tell when they’ve stopped a certain bad habit or when they’ve changed style completely – I can see how they’ve grown.

Ba. Hal

-So, this is your 9th year as a band. You’ve released only singles and mini-albums until now. Why did you choose this timing to release a full album?Hal: I think it takes us a lot more time to make music than other bands. The pace of releases in Visual kei is really fast, right? I’m not sure if this is okay to say, but I think that makes them rush through the creation process. It causes them to not spend as much time making music.
Anyways, it takes us a long time to make an album.

-How long did it end up taking you to complete “Darwin?”Hal: We started recording the drums in January of this year. We haven’t 100% completed the album yet. If we didn’t utilize all of our skills, it would have taken even longer. That’s why I think this album shows how much we’ve grown. We were able to create an environment where we could concentrate on creation. Part of that is thanks to our fans.Yui: Sometime last year, Hal and I were in the car together, and we talked about how we wanted to spend 2018 doing things we haven’t done as a band before. Making a full album, going on a solo tour, playing at bigger venues…We decided to do big things. I think completing “Darwin” means we checked something off of our list.
The industry has been telling us to make a full album for ages. Right?Hal: Yeah, they were always telling us.Yui: But from the perspective of a songwriter, even though I really enjoy listening to albums that other artists write, I felt a bit conflicted about doing the same thing. I like to release the songs I spend time making as singles because then every song I write seems like the main track, you know? I’m not sure how it is outside of Japan, though.Hal: In Japan, the first track on a single is the main track. It’s the one that has a music video.Yui: And then—this isn’t a very positive light to paint it in—the second track ends up being “the extra song.” It’s not the main track. That makes me a bit sad. I want every song I make to be the main song. That’s part of what made me not want to make a full album for a long time. If anything, I wanted to create a mini-album where every song was featured as “the main song.” (laughs)
Then one of my friends suggested we release a best-of album, so that all the songs would be featured as important.

-Did you create a lot of the songs specifically for “Darwin,” or were they already written?Yui: A lot of them are stock songs – songs we eventually wanted to release as singles. I’d only written the general framework or just one chorus for most of them. I think maybe one or two of the songs on “Darwin” are brand new. I can’t remember.

-So, does “Darwin” have a concept?Yui: Personally, I think “Darwin” is based on the concept of “human relations,” or how people interact with each other.

-Are they based on your personal experiences?Yui: I think it’s more based on my philosophy of human relations.

-Are any of the members good at English?Shu: I am, sort of. I haven’t spoken it in a long time, so I don’t think I can speak it well anymore. I used to study a lot.

-Do you want to play overseas again?Sho: Yes! I want to go!Hal: We really want to go.Shu: Music is a global thing, you know?Yui: The way fans react to our music overseas is completely different.Shu: I’m really happy our overseas fans like our music, even though it’s in Japanese, and they get into it. It makes us happy as musicians.Hal: Even in Japan, I think there are maybe hundreds of people that like our music but don’t have the opportunity to come see us live. Maybe they don’t live near a city, or they don’t have the means to go to a live, or they’re too young. They can’t come for a lot of reasons. But as a band, we want to help alleviate those problems even a little by going to as many different places as we can. That goes for outside of Japan, too. We want people who listen to our CD’s to also have the opportunity to see us live.

-Are you going to any out-of-the-way places on your upcoming Japan tour?Hal: Yes. We’re going to Okayama, Fukuoka, Niigata, Kobe, and Yokohama for the first time. We want a lot of people to come to our shows [in cities], but we also want to give others a chance to see us. We’ve been together for 8 years, after all. We want everyone to be able to see us.

-Do you get a lot of comments from fans on social media like that? Like, “I want to go to your shows but I can’t…”Hal: Yeah. Around the time we released our first mini-album [and toured], we really started to understand that there we have fans all over Japan.

-That must have made you happy.Hal: Yes, very happy.Yui: A lot of people told us “We’ve been waiting for you.”Hal: Social media makes it easy to hear from fans now. It makes us want to see as many of them as we can.

-Do you hear from fans overseas a lot, too?Hal: Yeah, we do.

Dr. Sho

-If you could play overseas again, where would you want to go?Yui: I want to go to Toronto again. And Calgary.Shu: I want to go to America and the U.K. because of the music scene.Sho: I really want to go to the U.K.! And Germany. They have good beer.Hal: I want to go to other Asian countries, like Indonesia and Taiwan. Indonesia has a lot of people, and it’s started to develop as a nation recently. The music industry as a whole has been turning their focus there because there are so many people. I also want to go to Turkey. Actually, I want to go all over the world. (laughs)Shu: I want to go to Taiwan, too.Sho: They have good beer.Hal: Why are you only thinking of beer? (laughs)

-umbrella, unlike a lot of Visual kei bands that we feature on S-T.net, is based in the western Kansai region of Japan (not Tokyo). Do you notice any differences between Tokyo bands and Kansai bands?Shu: I think there are more specific categories of Visual kei in Tokyo than in Kansai. Like, darker bands will play at events with other dark bands.Yui: The range of variety in Tokyo is totally different.Sho: And the population is different.Yui: I think Osaka bands make up maybe only 10% of all Visual kei bands, and they’re decreasing. Osaka bands also tend to collectively lean towards one style of Visual kei, like bright and poppy bands, or heavy bands, or dark bands like us. We’ve seen them go through the trends and end up disbanding. There are very few bands that play the same style as umbrella.Hal: There are more people who just drop by to see us in Tokyo.Shu: Yeah, like on their way home from work.Hal: Like, say it’s a Monday night at 7 p.m., and you just want to hear some live music even though you’re still in your work suit. That happens a lot more often in Tokyo than Osaka. I think that’s wonderful.
Honestly, I think Osaka fans don’t have much energy lately. But that comes in waves. I don’t think this slump will last. We’re in an age now where our music can reach fans worldwide, even though we’re in Osaka. I think the energy will pick up again.

-At least you’re looking at it optimistically!Hal: Yes.

-Finally, could you give a message to your fans and our readers at S-T.net?Yui: I think most of you reading this interview are hearing about us for the first time. Maybe we seem a bit selfish, but umbrella is a band that holds tight to its unique identity. We’re not following any fads. We are making music simply because we enjoy making music. I think the age where bands like ours will be truly appreciated is coming, so I’m glad you’ve found out about us.
For those of you that already know about us, we’ll continue to make music with confidence. Don’t worry and stick with us.Shu: In this age where the Internet is used by nearly everyone, we want to find ways to help you listen to our music. I want you to look forward to what we’ll bring next. I think there are ways to hear “Darwin” in your country, but we’ll find ways to show even more people what we have to offer. Please give us your support.Hal: In this current age, it has become very simple to communicate with fans overseas. I think it will soon be more common to have concerts streamed live worldwide. We’ll continue to make good music until that time comes, and then we’ll be able to show you our music face to face. We’ll try our best, so please give us your support!Sho: Some of what I want to say overlaps with Hal. I really want to play a show overseas again. I think an age will come where we can do that easily. umbrella just enjoys making music and we want to share that joy with you. I want us to have a fun time together. Please support us!

We’re giving away a signed autograph board to one lucky reader! Enter using one or all of the entry methods on the Rafflecopter embedded below. You have until May 16 to enter!

When we asked you all which bands you wanted S-T.net to interview in 2018, an overwhelming amount of you said JILUKA. Well, your wish has been granted. With a big solo show coming up on May 20 and talk of a new album out within the year, we thought they’d have something to talk about.

In this interview, the band tells us about all of that and more, including how their relationship as a band has changed since we last interviewed them, and what tuned they’ve been listening to lately. Read until the end to find out how you can winone of two very special prizes!

-So, the last time we talked was a little over two years ago. How has your relationship as band members changed since then? Sena: Our roots haven’t changed, but since then we’ve clarified the way that we want to express ourselves as a band. It’s more unified. We’ve found out how to mesh together what each of us think is cool. I’ve been noticing that a lot lately.Zyean: Compared to a couple of years ago, I think our musical skills have really improved.Sena: But even more than that…Zyean: But even more than that…our songwriting sense has improved.Sena: But even more than our songwriting sense, Boogie…Boogie: But even more than our songwriting sense…we understand better how to express ourselves at live shows, and I think has made us become more of a band in the very sense of the word.Sena: But even more than becoming more of a band, Ricko…Boogie: I just summed everything up!Ricko: I think the band members [besides me] have really improved.Everyone: (laugh)Ricko: They’re even better than two years ago. They get along better and have more energy now. We’re able to talk about things with each other now that we couldn’t tell each other one or two years ago. I guess that’s what happens when you spend a lot of time together. We are friends.

-Last time we talked, you told us that you weren’t ready to reveal the meaning of your band name, “JILUKA.” How about now? Sena: It’s still secret.

-When can you tell us? Boogie: On our 20th anniversary.

-Tell us about one interesting thing that happened last year. Zyean: We had an in-store event where we were crossdressers…I arranged that event. That was really interesting. It would be fun if it happened again.

-You’ve been posting some pretty interesting videos on Twitter lately, Ricko. How do you come up with those? Ricko: It’s whatever I come up with at the moment. When I want to get pumped, I get pumped.Zyean: You’re always like that.Ricko: No I’m not.

-Please tell us about your goals for 2018, both personally and as a band. Sena: My personal and band goals are the same. First, I want to make our solo show on May 20, 2018 at TSUTAYA O-WEST the best that JILUKA has ever had.Boogie: I’m looking forward to our O-WEST solo show, but in preparation for that big show, I want to continue to improve [as a band].Zyean: I want our O-WEST show to be one that sticks in peoples’ memories, so I want to work towards that.Ricko: I want to improve my handwriting.

-Do you have any special plans for your upcoming solo show at TSUTAYA O-WEST? Ricko: We can’t tell you the specifics yet, but we’re preparing something really interesting. It will make everyone go, “What?” We’ll try our best to pull it off.

-We know you’re planning to release a new album in 2018. You’re probably still in the planning stage, but what can you tell us about it now? What kind of album do you want it to be? Sena: We’ll keep our JILUKA style intact…Boogie: …but we also want to try a new sound.Sena: In a good way.

-What kind of music have you been listening to lately? Boogie: Utada Hikaru.Zyean: I’ve been listening to Gospel [the band] a lot lately. I’ve been studying it. The drum parts are really popular among metal drummers right now.

-Are they difficult to play? Zyean: Yes, they’re difficult. I still haven’t figured out how some of it goes together.Sena: But if it’s Zyean…Zyean: …I can do it!Sena: I’ve been listening to Maroon 5’s “This Love.” I’m also really into Skrillex.Ricko: I’ve also been into T.M. Revolution. His singing style teaches me a lot.

-If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be (both in a realistic and an unrealistic sense)? Zyean: Meshuggah.Boogie: You want to play a show with them? Or do you want to collaborate with them?Zyean: Collaborate.Boogie: What would you do?? (laughs)Zyean: Switch out the drummers…like “feat. Tomas Haake.”Boogie: But that’s your part!Everyone: (laugh)Ricko: I want to collaborate with Nocturnal Bloodlust.Boogie: It’s not really a collaboration, but I’d like to play more shows with more metal artists.Sena: I want to collaborate with different types of performers, like dancers or comedians. I also think something with actors in a movie would be interesting. I want to do something unconventional.

-What is “Visual kei” to you? Ricko: Beauty. Beautiful, piercing, smooth…Boogie: What’s piercing about it? (laughs)Ricko: Huh?Boogie: I think it’s a form of expression.Zyean: There’s a lot of freedom of expression in Visual kei.Boogie: It’s not defined by any one genre of music.Zyean: Anything goes, whether it’s good or bad.Sena: If we’re speaking honestly here, I think it’s like a combination of many different art forms.

-Finally, please give a message to your fans and our readers at S-T.net. Boogie: We haven’t had any chances to play overseas yet, so if you’re really interested in seeing us, make a trip to Japan. Please continue to give us your support!Zyean: I believe we’ll continue to improve our songs and our musical skills, so I want you to expect more from us.Ricko: There are a lot of fun places to visit in Japan. Think of us as the “Last Samurais.” Make time to see us while you’re sightseeing in Japan. Come see some samurai. I think you’ll have fun.Sena: I want to cherish the support we get from our fans not only in Japan, but also from fans around the world. I’ve noticed a lot of response from fans overseas in particular lately. I’ve been trying to give those overseas fans something a bit more on platforms like Instagram. I’m hoping it makes us more accessible to them. Maybe it will make it easier for you to come see our O-WEST solo show. We hope to be a band that can play overseas someday.

The prizes we’re giving away this time include an official JILUKA band towel and a JILUKA member pin set. You can enter using any or all of the entry methods on Rafflecopter until March 21. Get sharing, but remember to keep things fair!

]]>http://shattered-tranquility.net/index.php/03/12/interview-a-chat-with-jiluka/feed/16[Interview] THE GALLO’s Appetite for “KERBEROS”http://shattered-tranquility.net/index.php/02/27/interview-the-gallos-appetite-for-kerberos/
http://shattered-tranquility.net/index.php/02/27/interview-the-gallos-appetite-for-kerberos/#commentsWed, 28 Feb 2018 04:47:47 +0000http://shattered-tranquility.net/?p=75587If you’ve heard of THE GALLO, it’s probably because you’ve heard something like “their fans bring plates and spoons to shows,” or “their lyrics are obscene.” It’s not a secret that they have quite an overseas fanbase, and they’re dying to know more about the band.

In this interview with THE GALLO, the band talks about their secret to overseas success, their upcoming single release”KERBEROS,” and exactly why fans bring plates and spoons to concerts. Read until the end to find out how to listen to “KERBEROS” before its CD release on March 14!

-I think a lot of our readers already know who you are, but for those who don’t, please introduce yourselves.Jojo: I’m Jojo, the vocalist.Nov: I’m Nov on guitar.Wajow: I’m Wajow, also on guitar.Andy: I’m Andy, the bassist.Kaede: I’m Kaede on drums.

-Could you tell us the meaning of your band name?Jojo: “Gallo” means “rooster” in Italian.
I’m not quite sure how to phrase our concept, but it’s like a combination of a deep mystery, the ultimate nightmare, or demons that eat your dreams.
We’re defined by a lot of things, but I think the concept of “nightmares” is strongest.

-Why did you decide on a band name like “THE GALLO?”Jojo: We like how it sounds.

-We know THE GALLO has a lot of fans overseas, but there probably aren’t a lot that are fluent in Japanese. You also use a lot of difficult phrases and kanji (Chinese characters) in your song titles and lyrics. Despite all this, why do you think your band has so many fans abroad?Jojo: Because we’re hard to understand. Because we use a lot of kanji.Kaede: Since we’re so hard to understand, it makes them want to know more.Jojo: I’m not sure how interested they are in kanji specifically, but I’ve wanted to prioritize the Japanese language since we started the band.
We don’t use English in our lyrics. It’s not like we use absolutely no English, but we’ve consciously tried to avoid using much English. So that’s why you don’t see a lot of it.
We also use a lot of words that even the average Japanese person doesn’t use.Kaede: I will say that I think you shouldn’t get tattoos of our lyrics, though.Everyone: (laugh)

-Are there fans that do that?Kaede: Not yet. It’s just that from a Japanese perspective, we write a lot of outrageous things in our lyrics. You probably shouldn’t get tattoos of them.Jojo: Like “Feast of Infamy,” haha.

-We’d like to talk about your single being released on March 14, “KERBEROS.” What sort of concept did you decide on?Jojo: Cruel love songs.

-Does that go for all 3 tracks included on the single?Jojo: They’re all basically love songs. They’re totally different from songs you hear on the radio or TV, though.
I think there are a lot of ways that you can express yourself, and as THE GALLO, we express ourselves in our own unique way.
That doesn’t only go for love, but I think love is at the heart of it.
The message of “KERBEROS” is “I ate you because I love you.” If you carefully read and look up the meaning of the lyrics, maybe you’ll understand what I’m trying to say.

-So it’s kind of a crazy message?Jojo: It’s not that out of the ordinary for my lyrics. We say that we eat dreams, sadness, and pain, so one way to express that affection is by eating all of you. Because I love you. I wanted it to be the cruelest expression of THE GALLO.

-I see. Did you try anything new or different with this single?Jojo: We tried to change up the way we perform things.Kaede: How we express ourselves.Wajow: A way of performing that we haven’t done until now.

-Can you give us any more than that?Wajow: It’s not exactly the craziest song we’ve played, but it has a different kind of crazy from what we’ve had before.

-Please tell us about the next track, “Kaichuu.”Kaede: This goes for all songs on the new single, but we spent more time working on these songs in the studio compared to previous works. We did that on purpose. We thought it would give us better results if we took the extra time.

-How do you think it went?Nov: I think it went great. We get more ideas this way, as opposed to having only a little time to finish things. I think that’s reflected pretty well in the new single.

-Now for “Shingei-gata Sensuikan -Kokugei-.”Andy: I usually make songs on my laptop, but this time I made it using my iPhone.

-All of it? On your iPhone??Andy: Yes, all of it.

-Did you use an app for it?Andy: I used GarageBand. It was easier than I thought. The song isn’t that bad.Kaede: It’s like an ad for Apple.Everyone: (laugh)

-About the title – we did a little research and found out there’s a fictional submarine in Shinsaku Hirata’s novel with the same name as your song. Is there any relation between the two?Jojo: No, I thought of that on my own. It isn’t a normal way to name submarines. They’re normally simpler, more Japanese-sounding names. They’re different from destroyer ships and warships in that their names are fairly simple. It’s like a military rule.
But I thought, “That doesn’t sound very cool,” and I wanted to use the imagery of a whale in the theme of the song, so I thought a submarine fit that concept the best.
But then “submarine” by itself didn’t sound very cool, so I added “Shingei-gata,” or “God Whale-type.” Submarines aren’t normally named like that.

-Please tell us about any goals you have for 2018, both personally and in terms of the band.Nov: Personally, I want to try out a lot of instruments and study different kinds of music so we can improve the range of our own songs. I’ll give it a try this year.Andy: In terms of the band, I want to make a lot of songs and expand our range.
Personally, I want to take care of my health.

-Did something happen last year?Andy: Nope.Everyone: (laugh)Andy: I did get the flu, haha, but that’s about it.Wajow: In terms of the band, I want to produce some real results this year. I’ll try my best to make that happen. In personal terms…practice.

-You don’t practice enough?Wajow: No, it’s not enough.

-What do the other members think?Andy: I think it’s enough…but if you don’t think it’s enough, then I guess it’s not enough, right?Jojo: In terms of the band, we’re going to make 3 releases this year starting with “KERBEROS.” Wajow already said this, but I really want to link that to some real results and step up as a band altogether.
I hope that will help us make next year a successful one. I guess that’s my goal.
My personal goals, as always, are to be better at planning and to not hold back anything, anywhere, at any time. Japanese people tend to hold back a lot.Kaede: My personal goal is to not get in any car accidents. That doesn’t mean I got into one last year, though.
In band terms – I’ve heard rumors that we have a lot of overseas fans. I want you to call us in a bigger voice. I’d really like to release something overseas. We’re waiting for offers from CD makers.

-2019 will mark THE GALLO’s 10th anniversary, correct? Do you have any big plans for that yet?Kaede: We haven’t figured out the basics yet, but since it is our 10th anniversary, we’d like to do something.

-If you could go overseas—whether personally or as a band—where would you like to go?Kaede: I want to go to Ireland. I love the Cranberries, and I like the buildings. I love the scenery of places like Dublin.

-How about the beer?Kaede: I only drink Guinness.Andy: I want to go anywhere, if we can go somewhere.

-Have you ever been outside of Japan?Andy: No, never.Kaede: I went to Los Angeles once.Wajow: I’ve done a lot of traveling with my family. I’ve been to China, Turkey, Guam, Bali…but I’d also like to visit anywhere.Jojo: I want to go anywhere that it’s possible for us to go, but I really want to go to the U.K. A lot of our roots are in punk rock – in terms of music and in terms of fashion. I can only think of good things when I think of the U.K.Nov: I want to go to San Francisco. I’m a fan of Full House, so I’d like to see what it’s like.

-By the way, are any of the members good at English?Kaede: No, not at all.Andy: I’ll study.Kaede: I dropped out of high school!

-THE GALLO lives are pretty unique, but what is it about your shows that you like?Jojo: We took a break from shows for around 3 months. Before that, we took our music and our shows for granted. When we finally got back to the stage, we realized how important our concerts are. What you experience there is totally different from everyday life. It’s far more interesting.
The stage is where we let out a lot of emotions. That’s probably the main reason we can’t quit. It’s our way of life.
We’ve thought about quitting music before, but that’s why we won’t.
I’m really happy that people think our lives are unique. I know that, too.
I can say with confidence that THE GALLO is different from other bands. I want our overseas fans to see that.

-Why do fans carry plates and spoons to your live shows?Jojo: So we can eat their dreams. We eat all things like dreams, sadness, and pain. We make fans set the table so we can eat them.

-Finally, please give a message to your fans and the readers at S-T.net.Nov: I’ve personally never been overseas, but I’m really interested in going. If you call us with all of our power, maybe we can go.Kaede: People from San Francisco? (laughs)Nov: Yes. (laughs) Our music will be available on iTunes, so you can listen to us. Maybe THE GALLO will visit your town someday. I hope we can.Andy: I hope you learn more about THE GALLO from this interview. I hope it makes you more interested in us. It would make us happy if it did.Kaede: I really want you to call us over to your country. We can’t get anywhere by just saying, “We want to go overseas.” I want to have a CD signing event over there.Wajow: Hello readers. Whether you just learned about THE GALLO from reading this or whether you’re a long-time fan – I’ll try my best, and I’d be happy if you came to see us, so let’s try our best together!Jojo: I want to go overseas, but we’ll only go if we have a good event organizer and a secure contract. We won’t go if we don’t feel good about it. We’re not used to how things work overseas. We look a bit scary with all of the makeup we wear, but that’s even scarier for us. (laughs) If you can make us a good offer, we’ll go over there.

Like Nov said, “KERBEROS” will be available on iTunes starting March 7. That’s a full week ahead of the CD release!

The band will also celebrate their 9th anniversary on May 4th with a show at Ikebukuro CYBER. Tickets cost 3,500 yen in advance and 4,000 yen on the day of the event. Get more info onTHE GALLO’s homepage. It will be an all-night event, so wear comfortable shoes!

It wasn’t long ago that we introduced to you TRNTY D:CODE, a band started by ex. KILLANETH members Kai and 39. The band is drawing attention not only because of the release of their first single “GRAVITY,” but also because of their unprecedented tie up with Swedish Visual kei musician YOHIO.

In this interview with TRNTY D:CODE, you can learn about the band’s concept, how to pronounce MST and 39, their goals for 2018, and their global outlook.

-You don’t have a drummer at the moment, correct?Kai: That’s right.SHiO: We have a support drummer right now.

-Could you tell us what your band name means?Kai: “TRNTY” is a reference to the Holy Trinity in Christianity. But it also refers to the feelings that humankind has experienced as a whole historically, and how it seems like those feelings are starting to grow fainter in the current age. The “D:CODE” part means “decipher.” To us, it’s our way of saying that we should, as humans, return back to how things were before.

Vo. Kai

-Would you say that’s your band concept as well?Kai: Yes.

-It’s interesting that you make use of the manipulator. Not many Visual kei bands do that. What went into that decision?39: We wanted to add something a little bit different from other Visual kei bands in Japan. I used to be a drummer, but I was never really attracted to a single part in a band. What I mainly wanted was to express myself in my own way. I like the idea of a band, though, so I wanted to do that as a member of a Visual kei band.Kai: When we considered all of that–wanting to be a little different and 39 wanting to express himself in his own way—the manipulator seemed perfect.MST: Basically, we want to be Japan’s Linkin Park.

-Most Visual kei bands—including TRNTY D:CODE—have a distinct rock sound. But since you use manipulators, maybe you’re influenced by some artists or groups that aren’t in the field of rock music?39: This isn’t really a music-related influence, but Kai introduced me to Die Antwoord. I really like them.

-I also took a peek at your Instagram, 39, and I noticed a few G-Dragon-related posts on there…39: I love G-Dragon.

-Does that show up in the band at all?Kai: It does in some ways. Mainly the fashion.39: I’m not so much into the music. I’m more into his fashion and his view of the world. I like artists that make people go, “What is this guy thinking?” (laughs)

-So what are you into musically?SHiO: I like ISSUES. And Wagakki Band.Kai: The music I listen to isn’t really related to TRNTY D:CODE’s music at all…39: Justin Bieber! (laughs)

-Justin Bieber? Really?Kai: But that’s true! I listen to that kind of music. Justin Bieber, James Brown, Sam Smith…MST: People are going to think he’s a hipster. (laughs)

-That’s pretty different from your image. Kai: You’re right. I guess that must show up in the melodies. They’re not very typical of Visual kei.SHiO: But that’s fine, because we don’t really want to be a typical Visual kei band. I don’t really like that style – the style that comes to mind when you hear the words “Visual kei.”MST: We want to destroy that image.

-Then why did you decide to be a Visual kei band?MST: We like how it looks. (laughs)SHiO: We’re not into Visual kei for the music, per se. We’re more into how it looks.MST: You can do anything with Visual kei.Kai: There’s so much room for expression in this genre. I think that’s what attracts us to it. TRNTY is a band that doesn’t try to align its vision with what fans like when it comes to our looks, our music, or our music videos. If anything, we want to gradually change their expectations. This isn’t just with Japanese fans, either. We want it to become a genre that people anywhere in the world can get into.

-What kind of expectations do you want to change, exactly?39: Like the typical musical key of Visual kei songs, how bands present themselves and perform…Kai: Visual kei really has so much room for expression, but it’s a shame that people have come to expect that the music and looks have to be a certain way. I think it’s a waste. We want to push the boundaries of what you can express in Visual kei.

-Could you tell us about your first single, “GRAVITY?”SHiO: When I first wrote the music for “GRAVITY,” there was no manipulator part. After we decided to make the manipulator a part of the band, I rearranged the original song. It became even better after I rearranged it.MST: Yeah, it’s really different now…SHiO: It’s like the result of the chemical reaction of the band members.

-Were the lyrics for this track written prior to the music, or were they written after the song was finished?Kai: I wrote them after the music was written. A lot of the lyrics I write are about my own thoughts and experiences. Since we started TRNTY D:CODE and this is our first single, the feeling of, “This is when I have to start trying really hard” is included in the lyrics of “GRAVITY.” Like, “I have to do it now.”

-Do you have a lot of other songs written already?Kai: Yeah, we have a fair amount.

-We thought it was interesting that you decided to present yourselves as a tie-up with YOHIO. How does this manifest itself in TRNTY D:CODE’s activities?39: He has a sense of things that Japanese people don’t typically have. That really influences what we do.Kai: Because he’s aware of that difference. It wouldn’t be lying to say that we aren’t a band marketed towards Japan – we’re marketing ourselves on a more global level. We’re actually focused more on international rather than national activities.

-Wow, that’s surprising!Kai: Since we started working with YOHIO, the things we have to recognize and look at as a band have expanded. I think we would be fine if we were solely focusing on being a Japanese Visual kei band playing in Japan, but that’s not what we’re doing. We also needed to know how Visual kei is perceived overseas, what kind of music is popular internationally, and so on.

Ba. MST

-Do you have a lot of international plans, then?Kai: Yes, we do. We have a lot of plans, but we can’t announce them yet. No matter what we do in Japan, it will be difficult for fans overseas to see them or participate in them. We want to find ways to bridge that distance in all of our activities.
But since we do live in Japan, we will play shows here. However, we will do whatever we can to at least create a space for our international fans.

-So, TRNTY D:CODE officially started up in April 2017, but it wasn’t until December 2017 that band activities really kicked off. What happened?39: It was originally me and Kai when we started. We had a plan that followed the same timeline as most other Visual kei bands, but then the tide changed…Kai: We’d thought of when to announce certain things, but then our situation changed. Actually, we originally started this as a project [not a band]. When we decided to make it into a band, it took us a long time and a lot of talking to decide on what kind of band we wanted it to be. We had to figure out what we could do to set ourselves apart from other Visual kei bands.39: Anyone can just start up a band, but we really want to cherish this band. That’s why it took so long.

-What are some goals you have for this year?MST: We want to fly high, out of Japan.Kai: We want to play a show overseas.MST: I want to dream big.Kai: We mean “fly high” in the sense of dream big, but I also want to actually fly. Like, in a plane.MST: I think people [in Japan] have gotten a little boring with their dreams. There aren’t any huge superstars from Japan anymore, so people are setting their standards a bit lower. That’s not what we want. I think that’s also partially reflected in our TRNTY D:CODE’s concept.Kai: We also want people to listen to our music and think, “Oh, they’re playing this kind of music?” We want fans to recognize that we’re a bit different from your typical Visual kei band.

-Since you’re so focused on international activities, would you say that English is an important tool for your success? How is your English language level? MST: We do think it’s important.39: I can’t speak English, and I can’t understand spoken English…I get laughed at.Kai: I’m studying English a lot. I need to write the lyrics, after all.

-Do you write the English lyrics yourself?Kai: Yes, I write them myself. I think that when our overseas activities really kick off, we’ll get more serious about studying. Like, “By this time, I need to be able to speak this much English,” and so on.

Manipulator 39

-What do you want fans to notice most about TRNTY D:CODE?39: I want to know if the messages that we want to send will be understood by international fans. I think Visual kei fans in Japan are curious about us; maybe they’re thinking, “Oh, here’s another weird band.” But what I want to know is if international fans will get it. I’m looking forward to their judgment. (laughs)Kai: What part of us? (laughs)39: Our appearance. I want them to call us crazy. Like, “These guys are really crazy.”All: (laugh)39: I wonder if we can go that far.Kai: In terms of what I want fans to notice about our music, I’d have to say the rapping. I started rapping when we started this band…

-Rapping in English or in Japanese?Kai: Both, but mostly English. I think we have a rapping section in all of our songs right now. I don’t think there are many Visual kei bands that rap. There’s lots of shouting and screaming, but not much rap. I think that’s one of TRNTY D:CODE’s selling points.

-Do you find it difficult to sing [and rap] in English?Kai: Yes. It’s difficult. I have to practice a lot whether it’s Japanese or English.

-Are you nervous about performing?Kai: A little, yeah. It feels more like pressure than nerves. Since [rap] is something not typical of Visual kei, I’m a little worried about how the audience will respond to it.

-Your first show is next month, right? (to the other members) How are you feeling?MST: I’m pretty excited.39: I’m scared.All: (laugh)SHiO: Well, he is performing with the manipulator for the first time.39: I want them to get into it.

-In Japan, fans typically make furitsuke (hand movements) to go along with the music, right? Instead of that, do you want them to dance?39: No, I don’t really want them to dance, either…Kai: We don’t want our shows to be like typical Visual kei shows.

-But, what if fans start doing furitsuke anyway…?Kai & 39: We’ll yell at them.All: (laugh)Kai: We won’t really yell at them, but we’ll play in a way that you won’t want to—or be able to—do furitsuke.MST: And if they do, that means we need to change our style. (laughs)39: I think a lot of Visual kei bands make songs specifically with furitsuke in mind, but we don’t think of that when we write songs. I don’t think we’re able to make music like that.Kai: If anything, they’ll put their hands up and mosh. There are also chances to do the Wall of Death. Ultimately, we want fans to say that they enjoy our shows by doing what they want to do – not by following a set sequence of movements.

-Finally, please give a message to your fans and our readers at S-T.net.Kai: TRNTY D:CODE will officially kick off activities this year. We have a lot of overseas projects in mind, and our international fans will continue to be a part of whatever we do [even in Japan]. I think a lot of international Visual kei fans aren’t able to see their favorite bands because they only play in Japan or they’re too far away. To those fans – you don’t have to worry about that with us. We want you to expect us to go to a place near you. I hope you’ll give us your support so we can make that happen.SHiO: I want to be a band that frequently plays overseas. The more support you give to us, the more opportunity we have to make that possible. I want us to do that together. It’s not something we can do on our own.MST: Our mission to go overseas will be our first one. There’s a lot we don’t understand, but we’ll face those challenges head on. I want us to combine our passions, and I want people to think we’re cool regardless of nationality. Keep your eyes on us.39: We will go to meet you. Wait for us.

You may already know about Deviloof. Maybe you read our live report of their solo show in December. Maybe this is the first time you’re hearing about them. No matter your fan status, you’re about to learn more about this deathcore Visual kei band and their beginnings, the creation process of their latest album “Devil’s Proof,” and their plans for 2018.

-How did the members meet and come together as a band? Daiki: Hiroto and I were classmates in high school. We decided to get serious about music, so we started to look for band members. That’s when Keisuke joined. We weren’t Deviloof at the time; we played under a different band name. It was a deathcore band, not a visual kei band.
Then we decided that we would try Visual kei out. That’s when Seiya joined us. And starting with our one-man tour this December, Ray officially joined as a member as well.

-So, you have a really hardcore, underground, metal sound. In a visual sense, you’re Visual kei. Why did you decide to go with that combination? Daiki: It’s kind of a battlefield in the world of music. All of the members of Deviloof have roots in both Visual kei and metal. You could say that metal was born overseas, while Visual kei is a culture that formed in Japan. We wanted to mix the two in a way that only we could. We play with both Japanese and overseas culture in mind. That’s what we were thinking when we started Deviloof.

-Has anyone ever told you, “Why don’t you just pick one or the other?” Keisuke: Some people have that opinion, but they’re not in the majority. A lot of people say the combination is interesting.

-Now, let’s talk about your latest album release, “Devil’s Proof.” Яyo (ex. girugamesh) acted as the album’s sound producer, and artist Toshihiro Egawa did the album artwork. What was it like collaborating with these artists? Daiki: Яyo is like a recording magician. He produced something way beyond our expectations. We’re really satisfied with the outcome, and we respect him a lot.Hiroto: Toshihiro Egawa does a lot of artwork for death metal artists. He’s like a worldwide, top-level artist. I’m happy that he did that work for us.

Was the recording process for “Devil’s Proof” different from your usual recording process? Keisuke: We always produce the demo on our own, but we do all of the recording at a studio.Daiki: On our previous mini-album “PURGE,” there were no vocal melodies. It was all death voice. But for “Devil’s Proof,” we decided to use vocal melodies. We weren’t sure what kind of voice they should be sung in, or even what style of melody to use. It was really difficult for Seiya (our songwriter) and Keisuke to figure out.

-What kind of vocal style did you ultimately choose to go with? Keisuke: It’s like a mix of Hyde, Masaharu Fukuyama, and David Bowie.

-Are there any other artists you’d like to collaborate with? Keisuke: Morning Musume.Daiki: I’d like to ask someone to record with us or to mix one of our songs, like “Deviloof featuring ____.” I think that would be interesting. But at the moment, we don’t have any plans to do that.

-Did you try anything new for this release? Keisuke: Our previous album was sort of a concept album. This album doesn’t really have a concept; it’s a combination of different types of songs. That’s what we had in mind while making it.Seiya: In terms of the guitar, I used more swing guitar than on previous releases. Adding vocal melodies also made the songwriting process a bit easier.

-It’s only been a couple of months since “Devil’s Proof” was released, but what kind of reaction have you been getting from fans? Keisuke: It’s been pretty mixed. There are some fans that say we were better before, and there are some who say we sound better now. We had a feeling that would happen. But even people who don’t exclusively listen to underground music are starting to know who we are. Our fan base is getting broader.Daiki: This album has a sound that combines a lot of genres. There are songs with our usual sound that are really easy to listen to and get into, and there are some that aren’t necessarily that way. There’s a variety that makes it easy for a lot of people to enjoy. Most of the feedback has been on the more positive side.

-Since you have a lot of overseas musical influences and your lyrics are mostly in English, are any of you currently studying English? Keisuke: Of course…I think about studying every day. (laughs)

-Do you write the English lyrics by yourself? Keisuke: I write them and then ask someone who’s good at English to check them.

-Among your overseas fans, where do you notice a lot of them live? Daiki: Germany and Russia. We also have a lot of fans in Brazil.

-You have some plans to tour Europe in 2018, right? Daiki: Yes, around summer.

-We know the details are still probably in the works, but are there any countries in particular that you want to visit? Hiroto: I want to eat sausages in Germany.Daiki: I want to play a show in Germany, but I also want to go to Finland, one of the birthplaces of metal.

-Besides the Europe tour, what else can fans expect in 2018? Daiki: In 2017, we hardly did anything as a band. For 2018, we have plans to release some singles, national tours, and maybe a DVD. We really did nothing for 2017, so we’re going to spend 2018 in a constant state of activity. Fans can look forward to that.

-Finally, please give a message to your fans and our readers at S-T.net. Keisuke: Thank you for always supporting Deviloof! We’ll make 2018 a really active one for the band, so please continue to give us your support.Ray: I want a lot more people to know about us and have fun with us in 2018.Seiya: We’re going to Europe this year. That means people who are really far away from us right now will be able to see us, and we’ll go see those who are even further away someday.Daiki: We live in an age where you can’t make it just by selling CDs anymore. But we want to play shows at huge venues and visit a lot of different countries, so if you’re reading this, I want you to show it to a friend or lend them one of your Deviloof CDs so that more people will know about us. That’s how we’ll become more widely known and be able to visit more places.Hiroto: Hm…Daiki: Here it comes, the line he always says…Hiroto: If you listen to music like ours, you’ll lose your friends. Be careful.

Deviloof will be releasing their next single under Danger Crue 9thRecords in Spring 2018, so you can certainly look forward to that!

sukekiyo, who you may have read about recently in our latest live report, are a band that’s never quite the same. From their first album “IMMORTALIS” to their latest release “ADORATIO,” their dark, melodious, and erratic songs have only grown more unique and intense. Their almost eerily silent shows have increasingly drawn a following since their formation in 2013 – so much that “ADORATIO” is now sold out on their official website.

In this interview with the band, the members reveal the creative process of “ADORATIO,” their unique live style, and how they’ve developed as a band.

–Please tell us about the concept for your upcoming release “ADORATIO.” Kyo: A new style of sukekiyo.

–“ADORATIO” is neither a single, mini-album, or album; it is simply a “release.” What is your reasoning for this decision? Kyo: There are certain stereotypes that go along with singles and albums; I wanted to release it as a work in and of itself.

–How many of the songs included on “ADORATIO” are brand new songs? How many were created prior to the release? Takumi: I tend to combine brand new songs and songs I’ve written a while ago, so it’s hard to explain. The songs that I can say that I created in lieu of the release of “ADORATIO” are en and hakudaku.

–Did you challenge yourselves or try anything new on this particular release? Yuchi: Something we try to do with every release is to create a new sound — a new “mode” of ourselves.
The new sounds we used in this release include a more digital and rhythmic approach.
We want to challenge ourselves even further in the future.

–What are some things you want to challenge yourselves with as a band in the future? Mika: We’d like to challenge ourselves to try things we think are interesting.

–What song would you recommend to someone who has never heard sukekiyo before? Uta: elisabeth addict. It includes all elements of sukekiyo in an acoustic way.

–One of the defining features of sukekiyo performances are that, whether it’s a (seated) hall show or a (standing) livehouse show, fans watch the entire show in silence. You could argue that a lot of fans go to livehouse shows so that they can rock out together with the band. However, sukekiyo fans can’t enjoy that. Why did you decide to create this rule? Were you ever worried that fans wouldn’t go along with it? Yuchi: We see it as more of a way to better enjoy the show than a rule. There are pros and cons to this rule, but most of our fans seem to accept it and even enjoy it.
We originally created this rule in order to create a unique atmosphere for our shows. There are those who follow the rule and those who don’t, but ultimately, fans are free to do whatever they want. It’s not really our place to worry about it.

–Do fans watch in silence even when you play shows abroad? If they don’t, how do you feel about that? Takumi: Fans overseas did what they wanted to, but we also felt that they understood and enjoyed sukekiyo’s style. There are a lot of places we haven’t played at yet, so I’m interested to see the different reactions we receive from different countries.

–How has your relationship as band members developed since the band’s formation? Kyo: I’ve become closer and more able to depend on them.Takumi: At first, I was mostly focused on what Kyo wanted to do. But through the process of recording and playing shows with the other members, I’ve grown to respect and depend on each and every one of them more. I still put Kyo’s wishes first, but I also feel like I’ve come to understand what sukekiyo means to everyone. We’ve reached a good balance.Uta: I think we’ve become able to communicate more directly, rather than having to explain everything to each other at length. I believe I understand everyone’s musical style really well now.Yuchi: I understand each member better as a person compared to when we first formed, and that has only increased my respect for them. I wouldn’t be able to continue with sukekiyo without its current members.Mika: It’s hard to put into words, but with the band, I feel a sort of warmth and strangeness that I haven’t felt before.

–Lastly, please give a message to your fans and our readers at Shattered-Tranquility.net. Kyo: I want to play a show with sukekiyo in your country, so please invite us.Takumi: I want to play in America soon!!Uta: You can experience our constant development through music, but I believe you can experience that on an even greater level through our concerts. Check us out live.Yuchi: We’ve produced something amazing, so please listen to it a lot. Thank you.Mika: Let’s meet through music and shows.

You heard the band – help them get overseas! Whether you’re just getting into them now or you’ve been following them since the beginning, now is a better time than ever to witness the sukekiyo live experience.

Have you seen sukekiyo live before, in Japan or overseas? Let us know what it was like in the comments below!
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Many of our readers are fans of up and coming bands, but we know there are also a lot of you that treasure and long for that good old 90’s visual kei sound. However, most of those classics have broken up. That’s where La’veil MizeriA comes in.

La’veil MizeriA, a band that officially began activities in 2013, is known for their distinctly 90’s visual kei look and sound. Recently, they became one of the newest additions to the Starwave Records family, and they’ll be releasing their first mini-album under the label on June 28th.

In La’veil MizeriA’s first ever interview, you can read about the band’s beginnings, what made them join the Starwave family, the creation of their first mini-album, and more. Read until the end to find out how to win one of three prizes!

-Could you tell us a bit about La’veil MizeriA’s concept? kikyo: Our concept is basically a story of cruelty and cowardice.

-It seems like you have a lot of 90’s visual kei infleunces as well. kikyo: Yes, we have a lot of 90’s influences.jaki: Our lives are, in short, crazy. However, we also have a style that’s not around anymore in this day and age. Even when it was in style, there were only a few bands that play in the 90’s style that we do. I want us to be valuable to people who like that style.
Even in visual kei, there are trends, right? That’s an obsolete way to go about music. I think that kind of trend should stop.
In opposition to that, I try to create what I see as “true Visual kei.” It’s not fun if everyone is doin the same thing, right? Even if we seem outdated, I think that’s okay.

-What artists inspire you? kikyo: Madeth gray’ll.

-Could you tell us the meaning behind your band name?kikyo: The band name has the same meaning as our concept. When we came up with the name, we looked at a bunch of words. We wanted it to look nice written out, and I personally wanted to start with “La.” We thought “La’veil MizeriA” best encompassed both the meaning and appearance we were aiming for.

-How did the (current) members meet each other? kikyo: jaki and I have known each other for a long time.jaki: Yes, we go way back. We’re from the same area. Sometimes we played in different bands, but sometimes we played together.kikyo: You could say we reunited in Tokyo. As for miria, it was as if the gods led us to each other. It was destiny.

-You’ve had a few member changes since you officially began activities in 2013. How do you feel about the current lineup? jaki: I feel really good about our current lineup. We share responsibility depending on the situation, which is really great.kikyo: Yeah. I think this is the best lineup we’ve had so far.

-You recently joined Starwave Records. What triggered the decision to make this move?kikyo: We’ve been acquainted with Starwave for a while, and the timing seemed right.

-We’d like to ask about your first mini album scheduled for release on June 28th, “Jakumetsu Kyouen.” (寂滅饗庭) What sort of concept does it have? kikyo: All of the songs revolve around the theme of “death,” in both a positive and negative light.

-Are these all completely new songs? kikyo: We’ve been playing “Necrosphere” at our shows, but this is the first time that all of the songs will be available on a CD.

-So, you haven’t played the other songs at shows yet? kikyo: We played “Jakumetsu Kyouen” for the first time at our 2-man show a few days ago.

-How did the fans like it? kikyo: It was great. The fans really like it.

-Please tell us a little about each song on the mini album.1. Shien (死宴) & Jakumetsu Kyouen (寂滅饗庭) jaki: miria had already written “Jakumetsu Kyouen,” and then I asked him to create an SE that would fit that song.miria: This was… my first opportunity… to write a song… for the band. I didn’t want… to ruin the… MizeriA vibe… we had until now… but I also wanted… to show fans… something new.
Jakumetsu Kyouen… is pretty heavy… so I wanted… to make this SE… sound beautiful.

-With instruments like piano? miria: Yes…piano. I wanted…to create…that difference…between the two songs.

-How did miria do on his first songwriting job? jaki: In the demo stage of Jakumetsu Kyouen, it was pretty messy and difficult (laughs). So I helped out a bit with the arrangement to make it easier to listen to. As for Shien, I left that completely up to miria. He made the piano parts really well and it turned out to be a great song.kikyo: When I first heard the SE, I thought it was a perfect theme for the album, death. I hadn’t even told miria about that being the theme, so I was really impressed when he made such a fitting opening for the mini album.

3. siva jaki: I wanted to write this song in a key we haven’t had before. It’s more of an atmospheric song than a heavy song. In the end, it turned out to be a song that echoed that 90’s visual kei feel while also sounding like my own unique style.

-What do you do to create a 90’s sound? jaki: I create it with things like the sound of the guitar, the phrases… It’s music that I’ve always listened to, so you could say it’s ingrained into me. (laughs)
I wrote the melody (for “siva”) in a certain key, then kikyo helped arrange it until it became a really good song. It sounds more like a band song.kikyo: jaki’s songs are always difficult. They’re very particular.

-You mean they’re difficult to sing? kikyo: Well, his melodies are very specific. This is true about musicians in the past too, but sometimes you’ll hear a song and think, “Oh, I know who wrote this song!” It has a unique style. With jaki, even if he writes a song in a different key than usual, you can immediately tell, “Oh, this was written by jaki.” He has a really particular style.jaki: People have been calling me “particular” for years. (laughs)

4. Utakata (泡沫) jaki: For this song, I wanted to create a song that hasn’t been heard before in MizeriA before, while still keeping that 90’s feel. It’s our brightest song…kikyo: It’s poppy and catchy.jaki: But it’s not overly bright. There’s some pain mixed in there.kikyo: In the lyrics, someone dies. The song may be bright, but in the end, someone dies. I tried to balance out the brightness [with the lyrics]. (laughs) It was kind of an adventure.jaki: Yes. I haven’t had much experience writing brighter songs, so it was a challenge. How positive can I make this without killing MizeriA’s style? I wondered. We decided that this song is our limit.kikyo: I think we struck a good balance.

5. Necrosphere (ネクロスフィア) kikyo: I wrote this song. I made it heavy and crazy.

-In the lyrics as well? kikyo: Yes, the lyrics, the music, and even the fans at shows are crazy when it comes to this song.

-This is looking a little further ahead, but do you have any special plans for your upcoming one-man on August 9 at Ebisu club aim? kikyo: For now, we’re planning on giving out a free CD to all attendees.

-Is it a new song? kikyo: No, it’s not new. We’ve played it at shows before. It’s a bit rare, though.jaki: We don’t play it at shows very often.kikyo: Following the release of our mini-album, we’ll play the songs at it on our accompanying tour. At the final one-man show, I want to show everyone the progress we’ve made on performing those songs.

-How would you describe a typical La’veil MizeriA show do someone who’s never seen you before? What sort of performance defines the band?kikyo: Until recently, I’ve mostly focused on trying to make our shows as crazy as possible. But recently, I’ve also begun to focus on expressing the meaning of our songs as well.
There are a lot of fans who like going crazy at our shows, but there are also people who don’t enjoy shows that way. I’m trying to find ways to move and express themselves so that people who’d rather just watch can enjoy the show as well.

-On a different note, it seems like you have a lot of overseas fans. kikyo: There are a fair number that are curious about us, from different countries.

-Fans that come to your shows? kikyo: No, there are a lot of fans on the internet that say they want our CD’s.miria: Our international versions…are all…sold out.kikyo: They sold out fairly quickly.

-Where do a lot of your overseas fans live? jaki: They’re from all over the world.kikyo: We get a lot of messages from a lot of people in Chile…jaki: South America.

-Which country would you like to visit the most? Both personally and as a band. kikyo: Personally, I want to go to a more southern, tropical country. I want to go somewhere with a beautiful, blue ocean.
As a band, I’d like to go to Europe or South America, where there’s a lot of demand for us.jaki: I want to see the different kinds of architecture in Europe as well.miria: I want to…go to…Sweden. Many…of the bands…I watch…on YouTube…are from…Sweden.

-Many fans both in Japan and overseas use social media as a method for keeping up with bands and members they’re interested in. We were a little surprised to find that your Twitter account is kept private, kikyo. Why did you decide to do that?kikyo: SNS allows you to check out things pretty easily, right? I think there are good sides to that, but there’s also a bad side. I feel like information that you’re not particularly interested in goes in one ear and out the other.
But by making my account private, it means you have to make some sort of effort. People who apply for permission to see my account actually want to know what’s going on. They’re the only people I want to pass on information to.
I think effort is really important. I think it allows you to feel and experience more.
In our day, there wasn’t anything like SNS. It took a lot of effort to hunt down information or music about bands.
But because of that hard work, I remember and cherish the information I found dearly. That’s what I want our fans to feel.

-What are some of your goals for the rest of 2017? kikyo: As a band, I’d like to put out one more release. I’d also like to play in other parts of Japan.
On a personal level, I want to work on expressing myself and our music in our shows more thoroughly. I also need to work on my stamina… (laughs)

-With exercise? kikyo: Yes…with exercise.jaki: I want to develop my guitar playing style a bit more.miria: I’d like to give each and every show my all.

-Lastly, please give a message to your fans and our readers at S-T.net. kikyo: If you send a lot of messages saying “I want to see La’veil MizeriA! They’re awesome!” to our label, there’s a possiblity that we can go overseas for a show. Each and every one of your voices is essential!jaki: There are a few bands on our label that have gone overseas before, so if we have a lot of support, I think it’s possible.miria: Come see us… in Japan!

We have a total of three prizes to give away. Two prize sets include a La’veil MizeriA sticker and a Jaki pick. The grand prize includes an autograph board signed by all three members, a jaki pick, and a miria pick! Enter using any or all of the entry methods on Rafflecopter below. You can enter to win until Monday, June 19th.

Our first interview of the new year is with none other than Grieva! We’re sure you’ve at least heard of them before, but in case you haven’t, Grieva is a 90’s-style visual kei band that has been rocking out since 2012. They’re releasing their 9th single on February 22nd, “Sonzai Shoumei” (存在証明). Their looks and sound are a bit on the darker side of the visual kei spectrum, but any fan will tell you that they’re a blast to see live.

In this interview with Grieva, the band talks about their goals for the new year, the new single, their upcoming tour in March, and even a little bit about overseas. Enjoy!

Grieva’s Proof of Existence

1. Since this is our first interview with Grieva, please start by introducing yourselves.Kyouki: I’m Kyouki on vocals.Roku: I’m Roku on guitar.haru: I’m haru, also on guitar.Hisame: I’m the bassist, Hisame.Yuugo: And I’m Yuugo on drums.

Vo. 狂鬼-kyouki-

2. The New Year just started. What are some of your resolutions for this year (both for the band and personally)?Yuugo: We’re releasing a new single in February, and after that, we’re having our second one-man tour. For now, I want to focus on making that tour a big success.Kyouki: I think we need to start aiming higher as a band, so I want to work on making Grieva even bigger this year. Also, personally, my goal is to live until next year.All: (laugh)Roku: Last year, we weren’t able to visit a lot of places in Japan. We visited a few places on our one-man tour last May, but besides that, we haven’t been anywhere. I want to go to a lot of areas of Japan this year.haru: We’re playing at a lot of venues and visiting a lot of areas of Japan for the first time as Grieva during our upcoming one-man tour in March. I want to make some good memories on that tour, and I also want to make opportunities to visit those places again. We’re visiting places like Hyogo for the first time and playing our first Yokohama solo show, and I want to make sure we can go back to those places a second or third time.Hisame: We have our second one-man tour this year. I got into the swing of things during the last tour, so I’m hoping I can push myself to the limit at every show. That’s how I want to spend 2017.
On a more personal level, I don’t change my equipment or sound very often, so I’d like to change some of that by buying some new equipment.

3. Grieva has been together since July 2012, which means this July will mark your fifth anniversary. Do you have any special plans to celebrate it?Kyouki: We don’t have any solid plans yet, but since it’s our fifth anniversary, we’d like to do something interesting. Look forward to it.

4. Now, let’s talk about your new single set to release on February 22nd, “Sonzai Shoumei” (存在証明). Could you tell us a bit about each song on the track? What kind of concept is it based on?Kyouki: I reflected on what I set out to accomplish when I started this band. I decided that I wanted some sort of proof of my existence in this world – proof that I’m alive. That’s the kind of message written in the lyrics.
Also, I wanted our fans that watch us on stage to show us that as well. Those messages are included in all the songs on the new single.

Gt. 陽-haru-

5. Next, we’d like to ask a bit about each song on the single.・“Shitsumei” (失明)Kyouki: It’s a pretty wild and hectic song from start to finish.

-So, it’s pretty heavy?Kyouki: Yeah. But whenever I write songs, I try to make sure the chorus is easy to listen to. So even though it’s a crazy song, the chorus is easy to follow.

・Existence proofRoku: There hasn’t been a song like this in Grieva before. It’s technical and demands a lot from its players. It’s worth listening closely to by both fans and its players. It will be really entertaining to see live.

・Happy birthday NEW Mother fuxxer.Kyouki: I think this song is amazing live. We’ve been playing it a bit at shows already. It’s a song that gets everyone involved, and both the fans and the band can have fun with it.

-What does it sound like musically?Kyouki: It’s a heavy song overall, but I wanted to make the chorus sound super poppy. I think it takes people surprise when they hear it for the first time.

・Stupid trashharu: This song is pretty insane from start to finish. It doesn’t have a lot of flourishes or special touches. It’s basically a song that everyone can go crazy to and get pumped up.

6. You’re kicking off a tour in March following the release. What kind of tour are you planning?Kyouki: It’s based off the concept of our upcoming single, “Sonzai Shoumei.” I said this before, but I want to prove to fans—and have them prove to us—that we are living here and now. I want us both to prove our existence to each other.Roku: I want to have fun. I want us to give it our all at all of the shows, so that we can say “That was so much fun,” at the end.

Gt. 碌-Roku-

Hisame: Most of the songs on the new single were made for live performances. That’s the kind of band we are. I hope we can find some new tricks on this tour to make our shows crazier and more fun than ever.haru: Since these are one-man shows, I think it would be really interesting if we played some songs that we don’t normally play.Yuugo: This will be our second one-man tour. Our one-man tour in May last year was a blast. This time, we’ll be visiting more places, and my dream of playing a show in my hometown (Kobe) will come true. I’m really excited. I hope we can finish our final at TSUTAYA O-WEST smiling.

-Are there any shows on this tour in particular that you’re looking forward to?Kyouki: I want to enjoy all the stops on this tour. It’s not like we’re playing in my hometown of Gunma, anyways… (laughs) But at the final, I hope we can show all that we’ve gained on the tour.Roku: I’m not looking forward to one show in particular, but I’d like to make our show in Yuugo’s hometown a good one since it’s our first time playing there.Hisame: I’m looking forward to the second half of the tour. I’m excited for the first half, too, but I’m also excited for the weird kind of energy that comes along with being so tired during the second half of the tour. I think it’ll be fun. (laughs)All: (laugh)haru: I’m not looking forward to one show in particular; I’m looking forward to the whole thing. Our last tour with just the 5 of us—not with any other bands—was really fun.

7. Since this interview is geared towards your fans overseas, could you tell us where in the world you’d like to visit and why?Yuugo: I want to go to Singapore.All: Singapore??Yuugo: When I was in high school, I went on my first and only trip abroad. That was in Singapore. It was really fun, so I want to go again.Kyouki: I’ve never been outside of Japan before, so as long as it’s not Japan, I’d be excited. (laughs) I want to go to Europe, though.

Ba. 緋雨-Hisame-

Yuugo: I want to go somewhere with good food.Kyouki: Italy.haru: I want to go to the UK. It’s like the mecca of rock music. I don’t have a passport, though…All: (laugh)Roku: In the end, I guess I choose Germany. I think there are a lot of good bands there.Hisame: New York. America. I want to take a picture of me in the city that looks really cool.All: (laugh)

8. Lastly, please give us a message to all of your fans and readers at S-T.net.Kyouki: Grieva lives are all about having fun, so I think you’ll enjoy us even if you’ve never seen us before. We don’t do anything particularly difficult. Even fans from overseas will have fun. I hope you can come see us.Roku: I think it’s difficult to come see us from overseas, but we’ll do everything we can to make our shows are great when you come to see them.
We don’t have any plans right now to play a show overseas, but there may be a chance in the future. When that time comes, I hope you can enjoy the show and we can enjoy it, too.haru: If you’re reading this from overseas, I want to visit your country someday.
Before that, though, I want to do all I can to make our upcoming one-man tour in March an awesome one. If you happen to be in Japan during that time, I hope we can prove our existence to you.Yuugo: Whether you’re a fan in Japan or overseas, we’re trying our best in this band every day. You can meet us whenever and wherever. Whether you’re Japanese or not, I hope you can see us at our shows or in-store events.

Dr. 優冴-Yuugo-

Hisame: Personally, I really want to go overseas. I want to experience the different cultures and the different live venues. Please continue to give us your support so I can make that dream come true.

If you’re interested in the new single, you can pre-order it on CDJapan. Keep checking back to see updates about everything else Grieva-related, and let us know what you thought of the interview with a comment or two!

If you’ve ever heard of Ensoku, your first thought is probably, “This is a pen.” This band’s crazy stage antics and hilarious concepts have won them a place in visual kei fans’ hearts around the world. They just celebrated ten years in the industry, an impressive feat in this current scene full of formations and breakups.

In Ensoku’s first ever interview for overseas media, they talk about their tenth anniversary, their upcoming singles, and a few exclusive tidbits of information that even the Japanese fans haven’t heard. Read until the end to figure out how to win a special prize!

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-First, could you please introduce each member and their part in the band? Buu: I’m the vocalist, Buu. Pleased to meet you.Joe: I’m Joe on guitar.Kuraoka: I’m Kuraoka, also on guitar.Mido: I’m the bassist, Mido.

-Could you tell us what your band’s concept is? Buu: Hm…that’s hard. I don’t think there are many bands that decide on a concept before they start. They don’t end up sticking to it if they decide beforehand.All: (laugh)Buu: Our concept is something like getting the audience to move in weird ways, releasing the dancer living inside your head, and taking you on a trip. Ensoku offers a place to do things like that.

-What about the meaning of your band’s name? Mido: We came up with three options: Ensoku (Picnic), Doubutsu (Animal), and Norimono (Vehicle). The one with sort of the most room for freedom, or the one we could do the most with,

Vocals: Buu

was Ensoku. If we went with animals, we’d be confined to only doing things related to animals. Like, we’d be cats one time and another animal the next time and it’d always be the same thing. If we went with vehicles, we’d be…

-Maybe, trains? Mido: …yeah, trains. We’d all be one car of a train, or something.Buu: We wouldn’t have been able to go on for 10 years with concepts like that.Mido: So that’s why “Ensoku” was our best choice. It gives us the most freedom.Buu: Do foreigners know that the band name “Ensoku” is uncool?

-What do you mean? Buu: From a Japanese perspective, it’s uncool. First of all, it’s written in hiragana.
(Translator’s note: writing a word in the basic alphabet, hiragana, when it could be written using kanji is generally considered unsophisticated.)

-We didn’t really think it was uncool. Buu: Oh. That’s a shame. Well… Most visual kei bands have English names, don’t they? Ten years ago we thought that bands that tried to make really cool names were actually uncool. So we didn’t want a ‘cool’ band name. We went with an uncool band name.

-On purpose? Buu: On purpose.Mido: All of our band name options were made to be like that.

-Among fans living overseas, there are probably many who haven’t seen Ensoku live. How would you describe a typical Ensoku live to them? Buu: The great thing about this era is that people can still watch videos on the Internet, right? Not every visual kei live is the same, but for most of them, fans are really well-practiced [in terms of furitsuke hand movements]. I think that’s something special about visual kei shows. When people watch videos of that performance style, they must feel a little jealous about how much fun the audience is having, right?

-Right. We watched some of your live clips and they seemed pretty comical–or crazy. Where do you draw inspiration for your performance ideas? Kuraoka: We’re not really influenced by any one particular thing.

-So, how do you come up with your ideas? Buu: This isn’t a very nice way to say it, but we watch average people put on basic shows and try to use that to think of things that aren’t basic. We don’t want to put on lives that are boring — visual kei as a genre was inspired by the idea that “average is boring.” Even so, there’s an “average” for visual kei. That’s our starting point for ideas.

-In that regard, you make an effort in both your performances and your music. Buu: Of course. It’s hard to say this to fans living overseas, but I think it’s difficult to get the full Ensoku experience just from listening to our CDs.Kuraoka: Do fans overseas do the kinds of things [like furitsuke] that fans here do?

-Not really… everyone tends to do what they like. Mido: So you don’t like being told “You should do this,” huh?

-It depends on the fan and the band, we suppose. Mido: I see.

-You’re releasing a new single, “12 Monsters,” in November. Based on what we know about the song and the in-store events that follow, can we assume that the single’s concept is based on the 12 signs of the zodiac? Buu: Not exactly. At first, I started off with the idea to make something based around the number 12 because I like it — there are a lot of things that revolve around the number 12, right? Hours on the clock, months in a year, one cycle of the Chinese zodiac… But among those, I thought it would be easiest to convey that significance through signs of the zodiac. So, it’s not as if I have a particular liking of the zodiac.

-So, why “12 Monsters”? What kind of monsters are there? Buu: My favorite movie ever is “12 Monkeys.” You should watch it. It’s from several years ago, but when I saw it I immediately took a liking to it. The title just sort of popped into my mind. But the single isn’t necessarily based on the content of the movie. It just has a similar ring to it.

-So it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re into monsters, either. Buu: Right, not at all; we just had this idea that the next theme would be monsters, or unusual creatures in general.

-We listened to the song a little bit, and to us it seems as if you’ve put together an interesting mix of frightening monsters and bright-sounding music. Buu: Right. My idea of it is like your childhood bedroom — like the Boogieman coming out of the closet.

-The Boogieman is pretty scary, though… Buu: Right, the Boogieman is scary, but he doesn’t seem that scary depending on what kind of image you’re looking at.Mido: He wants to be the Boogieman.

Guitar: Joe

Buu: No I don’t!All: (laugh)Buu: Anyway, the point is to break away from the norm. The Boogieman is scary. Our band isn’t actually scary, but we might look it.Kuraoka: Is the Boogieman a well-known character overseas?

-Yes! Buu: Actually, the Boogieman isn’t really well known in Japan.Mido: I don’t know what it is. What is it? Like the sack full of bugs?Buu: That’s the image from “The Nightmare before Christmas.” But the Boogieman doesn’t have one set form. The idea is that he’s a bedroom monster.
In Japan, homes are smaller. Parents usually sleep in the same room as their children. Since they’re together, the Boogieman wouldn’t really come out.
There aren’t many kids who sleep in a room alone. When kids sleep alone in a room, it’s like their nightmares come to life. I think that’s why [the Boogieman] isn’t a very well-known character in Japan. We haven’t explained the Boogieman concept in other Japanese interviews because of that.
I used to sleep in my own room that had a lock and my parents’ room wasn’t nearby, so I would always imagine things coming out from the shadows or appearing at my window. That’s also the Boogieman, in a sense.

-Going back to the theme of monsters — if each of you could be a monster, what would you be? Mido: I definitely want to be a Ninja Turtle. Aren’t they cool? And they eat pizza. I love pizza.Buu: That’s perfect! Then I want to be a turtle, too…Joe: Maybe Sailor Moon.

-That’s not a monster… All: (laugh)Kuraoka: Sailor Moon might not be a monster, but if Joe were Sailor Moon, wouldn’t that be like a monster?
A lot of people say I look kind of skeletal, so I want to be a fat monster.

-Final answer, Buu?Buu: I want to be a Ninja Turtle!

-Is that okay with you, Mido? Mido: I guess so. He’s not green, though.Kuraoka: I think he could make a good Shrek or The Hulk, though.Buu: The Hulk sounds good. He’s strong. I always wanted to be big. Like, someone who’s over two meters tall.

-Next, we’d like to ask a little more about the songs included on “12 Monsters.” The first track is “Sweet Nightmare March.” Buu: In this song, the monsters emerge from your nightmares and take to the streets. It’s their grand entrance.

-Who wrote the lyrics and music for “12 Monsters?” Buu: I write all of the lyrics, and everyone writes the music recently.

-What kind of song is 「イルキメラ・キッド」 (“Ill Chimera Kid”)? Buu: Hip hop and visual kei don’t usually go together, but “ill” is a word used in hip hop and rap to mean “insanely cool.” So, using that word, I decided on a rap theme. As for the “chimera” part – when making a song, you take bits and pieces of inspiration from a lot of places. You can’t make something completely from nothing. But the end result–something like you’ve never heard before–becomes a kind of “chimera” in and of itself. The “kid” part is the little brat in us that doesn’t want to abide by the rules.

-Does this song have any relation to one of your earlier releases, 「シリカゲルキッド」 (“Silica Gel Kid”)? Buu: That’s a really good question. This single will be available for pre-sale at our show on October 30th. That’s the same day as Ensoku’s first show ever. The venue is also the same. The song we released at that very first show was “Silica Gel Kid.” We’ve been together for so long and done so many things, it feels like going back to the beginning. That’s the connection between the new song and “Silica Gel Kid.” It’s not directly related to it, but it sort of signifies our 10 years together.

-Why didn’t you make it the title track, then? Buu: We originally didn’t plan on including a song with so much meaning, and there’s no way that anyone that went to our first show is still around. If we made an effort to promote something that no one actually knew the significance of, they’d think, “I didn’t know. I don’t really care.” So, we tried to make it as subtle as possible. We haven’t said this to Japanese media because of that.
It started off as, “I want to try rapping,” and ended up also including, “I want this song to have significance.” We did it for ourselves.

-So, what’s your favorite song on the single? Buu: I’d say “12 Monsters.”Kuraoka: I’d also go with “12 Monsters.”Joe: They’re all good songs.Mido: The first one. Or is it the second one? The “monsters” one.

-Let’s talk about the zodiac-themed in-store events that will accompany the release. Who came up with the idea? Buu: I thought of it.

-Which one was the most difficult to come up with ideas for? Buu: They were all pretty tough, but I think the Leo event was the most difficult. My original idea was for me to bite fans’ hands, but I figured some people might not be into that. So I had to figure out how to incorporate a lion another way.

-How did it end up? Buu: A toy lion will bite fans’ hands. If you’re bitten, you lose. If you somehow don’t get bitten, you win a prize.Mido: We also considered having Joe fight an actual lion.Joe: Then fans would bet on who’d win.Mido: Maybe we could do it if we sold a few more singles, but unfortunately, it won’t happen this time around.Buu: Sailor Joe vs. The Lion King. Rock is always “Dead or Alive,” you know.

-So, which in-store are you looking forward to the most? Buu: I’m going to go with the Cancer event. I’m curious about what kinds of problems and concerns fans will bring to us. We don’t actually know a lot about our fans’ personal lives, so I guess you could say I’m looking forward to knowing a bit more about them.

Guitar: Kuraoka Yusuke

It’s not like everyone that comes to our shows is having a great time in life. Some of them have probably been lied to or deceived pretty horribly. It would make me realize, “Wow, someone who experienced this awful thing likes our music.”Joe: I’m looking forward to the Libra event. It’s a kamizumo (“paper sumo”) event.Buu: You each fold up a piece of paper and draw a face on it, and then tap your fingers on the table rapidly.Joe: The two pieces of paper will get closer to each other, and eventually one should knock the other over.All: (furious table tapping)Joe: There’s also an arm-wrestling match. We tried it at an in-store before, but somehow I ended up losing to a bunch of the girls…

-Good luck, then. All: (laugh)Kuraoka: I’m with Joe. I want to have a champion match.Buu: One of our fans took the gold last time.Mido: She’s like a pro wrestler.Kuraoka: I want to have a rematch with her, as the champion.Buu: You can’t say you’re the champion if you lost!Kuraoka: So this will be my revenge match.Buu: I wonder what it would be like if we were a more worldwide band? We’d be up against all these tough foreigners…Kuraoka: Right? I bet there are some really strong ones.Buu: They’d be like [in English, deep voice] HEY.Kuraoka: [in English, deep voice] HEY BOY.All: (laugh)Mido: As for me, I’m looking forward to all of them, but especially the Sagittarius event. I love darts. I go to bars and play darts often.

-Good luck to everyone! All: (laugh) We’ll do our best!

-On October 30th, where “12 Monsters” will be available for pre-sale, you’ll have a special show. What kind of show will you put on? Buu: It will be at a really small livehouse, so I want the audience to leave dripping with sweat. I want everyone to have fun together.

-Will it have some sort of Halloween theme, since it’s so close to the day of Halloween? Buu: Nope. Halloween still hasn’t totally reached Japan [outside of Shibuya]. I’m actually anti-Halloween [in Japan].

-Really?? Buu: I’m against it. Halloween is an event where you put on makeup and dress up in costume to feel special, or feel like you’re someone else, right? But that’s what we do all the time in visual kei. Fans of visual kei members have always supported us like that and imitated our fashion in places like Harajuku, even while being silently judged by their peers in school. Then, all of a sudden, those same people that were judging you are taking this custom from overseas without even understanding it, and suddenly it’s okay to do the same thing themselves in Shibuya.
It’s like, “Why is that okay now?” And they only do it in groups. They don’t even consider what we–as visual kei artists–might think of that. [Costumes and makeup] are what has always made this genre “visual.” I can’t really agree that it’s suddenly okay to go out to Shibuya in costumes to have a good time.
So that’s why we don’t really want to have a Halloween party show. We’re a year-round Halloween party.

-So, what kind of show do you want October 30th to be, then? Mido: We’ll reveal new costumes. We’ll become “12 Monsters.” I’m hoping the fans will enjoy it.Joe: It will be the first time we’ll be playing “12 Monsters” and “Ill Chimera Kid.” I’m a little worried that I’ll mess up. (laughs)Buu: [in English] Joe is a fool.

-That means a lot of fans will be hearing it for the first time, right? So they won’t know if you make a mistake. All: (laugh)Joe: I guess that’s true.Mido: We could play a completely different song and they wouldn’t even know.Joe: Anyway, I’ll try my best to pull it off.Kuraoka: [in English] He’s a chicken.

-You’ll also be screening a 12-minute short film at the show on October 30th. Can you tell us what it will be about? Buu: We haven’t figured anything out yet. Malice Mizer made a short film, right? We were thinking of doing it in that style.

-Just as dramatic? Buu: Yes, just as dramatic.

-That should be interesting. Buu: You should add “Buu likes GACKT.” Malice Mizer was the first visual kei band I got interested in.

-Following that show, you’ll embark on a series of two-man shows. How did you decide on which bands to perform with? Buu: We asked the bands directly.

-We’re particularly interested in seeing what your show with Sibile Bashir will be like, since your performance styles are both a bit crazy… Buu. Right. That’s why we asked them.Mido: We really, really like Sibile Bashir. Aren’t they cool? And crazy. Crazy is cool.Buu: Izumi is an actual Boogieman.

-Which band are you looking forward to performing with the most? Buu: For me, Mix Speaker’s, Inc. We’ve asked them to play together before, but they never accepted our offers until now. We look up to them a lot. I’m excited to play with them.Joe: I’d say Jin Machine. We run into them and play with them a lot, so I already know how fun it will be.Kuraoka: Zin, from Osaka. They have a very Japanese sound. I love that kind of band. Also, there’s a member in Zin that’s into a Japanese band called B’z. I already know we’ll get along. I’d really like to meet him.

-Is he like your soulmate? Kuraoka: Yes, he’s my soulmate.Buu: There aren’t many guys in visual kei that would say they like B’z.Mido: I’m looking forward to playing with Sibile Bashir, of course, but I’m also looking forward to playing with heidi. They have great songs and great shows. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a while. We’ve always played under their level.

-The tour final will take place in January 2017. We know it’s early, but what kind of show do you want to put on? Buu: It’s where the whole tour will come together. It will be a test to see how much our efforts have paid off. It will show us how much we’ve gained.
At small one-mans and two-mans, there are a lot of reasons that prevent some fans from showing up, but I think this show will give us an accurate picture of how large our fanbase is. I think we’ve gained a lot.

-We’d like to talk about overseas a bit. If you could visit anywhere in the world (as a band or personally), where would you like to go? Buu: I don’t know. We don’t really get offers to play overseas.

-Do you want offers? Mido: Yes. I want to know how much of our English we can use. I want to try “This is a pen” on a foreign audience. I want to know if they think it’s funny.

Bass+ Mido

-They do, trust us. There are a lot of overseas fans that know you because of that song. All: Wow!Buu: Anyway, I’d personally like to go to the UK. They’re an island nation like Japan, and there are a lot of British products and influences here.Joe: I want to go to Australia. I went to Sydney, Perth, and Adelaide when I was very young, but there are a lot of places I want to check out again now that I’m an adult.Buu: He also wants to eat koalas.Joe: Eat… koalas?Buu: Don’t they eat koalas?Kuraoka: I’ve heard of kangaroo, but not koala. I guess a koala is like a kangaroo’s kouhai, though.
Anyway, I want to go to America. Specifically New York or Los Angeles. I’m really into American music, like Aerosmith.Mido: I want to visit India. Once you visit, you’ll want to visit again. Europe was too cold for me. I’ve been to the UK, France, and Italy before.Buu: I want to go to Italy, too! They have great food. I want to eat the real deal. You know how Japan has “Neapolitan pasta?” I want to test Japan’s version of it versus the real thing. I bet they’d think our version is gross.

-Finally, please give a message to your fans and all our readers at S-T.net. Buu: I’m still not sure what kinds of visual kei that visual kei lovers overseas like, but we’ll try our best to do things like translate our lyrics so you can really understand them. I hope it will lead you to meet Japanese friends that are as interested in our lyrics and music as you are, and eventually bring you over to Japan. I’m sure that will help you enjoy our music even more. We’ll keep on working hard for you.Joe: We’ve been a band that only works in Japan until now, but I hope that we can meet someday. We’ll work hard to make that happen…Buu: (puts a straw in his own ear)Joe: …so please give us your support.Kuraoka: I want to know what fans overseas think good music is. I want them to listen to our music and understand our lyrics. Also, I want them to listen to our guitar.
Once, I found out someone did a cover of “This is a pen” on YouTube. I was floored. I hope our fans–and people who do covers like that–only increase. Thank you.Mido: We’re always doing shows around Japan, so definitely come and see us if you get the chance. Come check us out when you come over here for the Olympics. Please support us!Buu: That’s right! There will be a lot of tourists coming over. Someone should make a “visual kei sightseeing tour.”Mido: Let’s do it.

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We’re giving away two autograph boards signed by all the band members. All you have to do is enter using one or all of the methods listed in the Rafflecopter giveaway below. The deadline for entries is October 30th at 11:59PM (EST).

DISREIGN is one of the far and few overseas visual kei bands. Fronted by YOHIO (ex. Seremedy) and label mates with Kerbera (who we interviewed earlier this year), they have held a unique place in the industry since their formation.

They also made a big change recently: all members moved to Japan, the origin of the visual kei scene itself. In this S-T exclusive interview with the band, you’ll learn about the reasoning behind the big move, details on their upcoming release (including the reason for the delayed release), what it’s like to be a foreign visual kei band, and much more.

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-Could you start by telling us your name, your part in the band, and your favorite food in Japan so far?JENZiiH: I’m JENZiiH. I play bass. I eat everything except squid, octopus, eel, and weird fishes.YOHIO: I’m YOHIO. I sing, produce, manage, and other stuff.

-Do you still play guitar?YOHIO: I still play when I’m writing songs, but I don’t play it in the band.tias: I’m tias, and I play drums. I like yakiniku, Matsuya, ramen, girls, and League of Legends.YOHIO: (laughs) That’s all you need to know about him.

-You came to Japan at the end of June, and you’ve played one show so far, right?YOHIO: Actually, we were all sick. Also, at the rehearsal, our backtrack system stopped working, so all the synths and strings and backing vocals stopped working. We paid for a three-hour rehearsal, but in those three hours, the only thing we did was try to restart the program. We finally made it work, but then we had to pay for more time. It was not optimal.
During the show, my voice held for about one song and then it gave out. It was fun, of course, but not the best gig.JENZiiH: It was not as much as we wanted.YOHIO: I kind of died for a week after. But it was fun.

-What are your concert plans for the near future?YOHIO: Well, the VisUnite app is being released soon. We’ll have a lot of gigs because of the release in October, November, December, and so on. We’re in the process of booking now.

-Are you excited?YOHIO: Yeah. We’re trying to find the best kind of events to play at. I am excited.JENZiiH: So am I.tias: Me, too.YOHIO: It’s been a while, and we’ve been doing so many other things. I really want to be on stage.

-How are you balancing school with everything else, JENZiiH and tias?JENZiiH: Less sleep. That’s the best way to balance everything right now. It’s like school, then homework, then band-related stuff, and then sleep for two hours. I’m trying to find some kind of balance. It’s quite hard, but it’s manageable.tias: School is only for like three hours. I think it’s not that hard. I can manage.YOHIO: I don’t have school, so I don’t have that problem. But I have to do everything else. Since the label we’re signed to is my label, I need to do all the label work, the management work, go to meetings, plan meetings—both the boring and fun parts.

-Are you managing any other bands right now?YOHIO: It’s just DISREIGN and myself right now. Kerbera is also on KEIOS, but I don’t manage them. In Sweden, I also have a pop artist named Oskar, but my dad is co-managing him right now. We’re working together. There are a lot of projects going on right now, but I try to manage.

-How are you adjusting to living in Japan? I know you’ve visited Japan before, but…JENZiiH: For me, it doesn’t feel like I’m living here yet.
tias: It kind of feels like we’re still visiting. The “home” part hasn’t settled in yet.YOHIO: I think it’s going to take a while before it feels like home. For me the past few weeks, I’m still adjusting, but it comes suddenly, out of nowhere. When it feels normal to have the Japanese TV on, or having a phone call in Japanese, or writing what you’re going to do tomorrow, then you step back and think, “Wait, this isn’t normal for me.” (laughs) It’s slowly starting to sink in that we’re actually living here, but it’s only been a few months. Maybe it will feel like home next month.tias: It still feels like we just got here. We do something pretty much every day, so the time just flies by.YOHIO: Yeah, some things we did right when we got here feel like they happened a year ago, and others feel like they happened yesterday. Everything is just chaos.

-A good chaos or a bad chaos?Everyone: A good chaos. (laughs)YOHIO: That’s why I named my label KEIOS, because I like chaos.

-Has anything about moving here been more difficult than you thought?YOHIO: Yeah.JENZiiH: Some things are harder, but there are some things I found easier than I expected, like taking the bus. I thought I wouldn’t understand anything, so I refused to take the bus at first. I actually like taking the bus now. They have nice air conditioning.
Other than that, no. Everything is easier than I expected. But I’m quite pessimistic as a person, so maybe that’s why.tias: I think everything was pretty easy to adjust to. I’ve been here for a month before, so I already knew most of it. YOHIO knows everything.YOHIO: (laughs) I’m actually learning a lot since coming here, even though I’ve been here 16 or 17 times before. You’re always learning something. From a living perspective, though, it’s pretty easy. Supermarkets are accessible. Pre-made food is so cheap, and it has to be good because they have the obento culture. You wouldn’t buy pre-made food in Sweden. I think everyday life here is much easier and much more convenient.
The only thing that’s annoying is taking out the trash. You have to put out different types on different days, and people get mad if you mess up. (laughs)
From a business perspective, it’s very difficult. I’ve been doing business here since my solo career, but I’ve always had help from the label I was signed to at that point. Now I’m doing everything by myself. I actually read books every day now regarding Japanese business and mentality just to see if there’s something I can pick up. There’s still stuff that I need to be better at.
Just sitting in a distribution meeting completely in keigo (polite Japanese), for instance, can be very frustrating. Not because I don’t understand what they’re saying, but because a lot of the words and expressions are things I’ve never had the opportunity to hear or use before.
During the meeting, though, I look up the words, and then—ta da!—I learn them.
Since I want to build up KEIOS in Japan, I want to know everything about Japanese business culture.

-How long did you study Japanese before you felt comfortable in a Japanese business setting?YOHIO: Well, I’ve been studying Japanese for 10 years now. The more I came to Japan, the more I felt confident. Just learning from textbooks drama and anime and stuff is not enough to get fluent in everyday language. It’s a good basis, but what you say and how you should behave when saying something is something you learn by being here. I’d say I’ve been developing most of my Japanese skills these past 4 years. Before that, it was just textbooks and going to Japan a couple of times. When I started to come here often, only being around Japanese people, that’s when you learn the most.

-On a slightly different note, you held the KEIOS Festival right before coming to Japan. What inspired to you to do that right before coming here? Did you plan it knowing you were going to come to Japan right after?YOHIO: Yeah, we’d been planning to move here for over a year. The idea of the festival came to me several years ago, but I started feeling it was the right time around December of last year. I thought, “Let’s do it now. Let’s try it.”
Me and JENZiiH did a lot of the planning. My dad also helped us with planning because he’s planned big events before, and we haven’t. We’ve played at them before, but we’ve never arranged them. It’s very different. We learned a lot by doing it from the other side.
It was very fun to see all the bands get together. Everyone was very supportive of each other and friendly. It felt like we were able to connect all of the Scandinavian bands in a positive way. The fans loved it, too.

-Did you have a good turnout?YOHIO: Yeah, I think it was very good for the first year of the festival. I think we want to do it again. Not next year, but maybe in a few years. I think we could pull it off again and do better because now we know how to do it. It feels good. I want to do it in Japan some time, too.

-You’ve been in the overseas visual kei scene for a while now. What have been some of the challenges you’ve faced as a “foreign visual kei” band?JENZiiH: It has been quite hard. We’ve taken a lot of hate because of it. A lot of Western fans would say, “You can’t do this. You’re white.” But, in my opinion, visual kei is all about expressing yourself. It’s the same as other music, just with the visual aspect added.

YOHIO: We started with Seremedy about seven years ago, so we have been doing this for a while. We played at basically every convention there was in Sweden at that time. There was no problem among convention goers, but people from other countries on the Internet really, really hated us. But we never actually cared about it. We kept on going.
Then in 2011, we said we were going to tour in Japan. So we did. I booked Seremedy’s first Japan tour when I was 15. We got an eleven-gig tour in spring, and then we played a second tour in fall that same year. Then we played at V-Rock Fest at Saitama Super Arena as the opening act. That was pretty cool.

At that point, we were able to say, “We played right before GACKT at Saitama Super Arena. So, you can say whatever you want, but we don’t care.”

The criticism has been a struggle, especially in Sweden, where the genre doesn’t even exist. It’s gotten both better and worse since I made my solo debut when I was 16. They thought I was the biggest weeaboo that ever existed, but I didn’t care because I was on [Japanese] TV. I thought I’d made it.

Then Eurovision happened in Sweden. It both built up and destroyed visual kei. Most people in Sweden know the term “visual kei” because of my appearance there, but then all of the Swedish people that supported me and Seremedy before Eurovision left because we became “mainstream.” It wasn’t cool to like YOHIO. Only kids and people who liked pop listened to YOHIO, since I’m classified as a pop artist in Sweden. So, it was both good and bad for visual kei.

That’s why JENZiiH and I started DISREIGN. Our music is much darker. We wanted to go back to basics.

JENZiiH: We’re much heavier than Seremedy. We thought it was time to go back to what we actually wanted to do.YOHIO: Then we thought, “Let’s move to Japan where the genre actually exists.” I think we can make it here if we work hard for it. The visual scene is still weak. It was up for a while, but then it went down. If we stayed in Sweden and tried to help it rise again, I think it would be difficult because music overall in Scandinavia is going downhill.tias: It’s all pop.YOHIO: It’s Swedish pop and EDM. That’s all that can make it in Sweden right now. You can’t really make it in rock there.JENZiiH: Even if you love to do rock in Sweden, there’s no profit in it. You have to pay a huge amount of money to do what you want.YOHIO: We’re very passionate about making the visual kei scene bigger again. Not just our band – the whole scene. That’s why I decided to become the ambassador for VisUnite. The creator and I have that similar passion.
If we want to make the Western visual market bigger, though, we have to get bigger here [in Japan] first. We’re going to stir things up a bit here in the visual scene.JENZiiH: Then we can be accepted by the Western fans.YOHIO: Most Japanese people don’t think visual kei is exclusive to Japan. They think it’s a worldwide genre.

-What do you hope to accomplish with VisUnite? What do you think it can do for the visual kei scene?YOHIO: I think it can connect fans and bands in a good way, since it’s profitable for both ends. If the fans are liking a band, they rise in the ranking. If the bands get high enough in the ranking, they can earn a spot in events and things.
The fans profit for it because the more they like, the more they can purchase in-app purchases (like more “likes”). They also rise in the fan ranking. They can earn gifts and discounts. So it’s very profitable for both ends. I think it has potential.
There are similar apps for idols called ouen apuri (support apps), so the system is already in place. This is the first for visual kei, though.

-Switching subjects a bit, what are some of your musical influences (both visual kei and non-visual kei bands)?YOHIO: We all listen to a lot of different types of music. I listen to a lot of classical music – Bach, Vivaldi, Paganini. I’ve been playing classical piano since I was 6, so I love symphonic music. I love symphonic metal. That’s why I loved Versailles and Malice Mizer when I was younger. I also like The Faceless, an extreme metal band from America. I also like stuff like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.
For the band, we focus more on keeping it heavy and dark, but also have catchy choruses.
It’s much more fun to be dark than bright because you can express much more with it. As a solo artist, I’m more pop-rock. I have a brighter appeal, I think. But it’s fun to do both.tias: There are so many I like. In the visual scene, I really like DADAROMA.YOHIO: I think they’re one of the best new bands in the scene. They have a very special atmosphere. They came out around the same time that we did. When we heard their first single, we thought, “That’s the kind of sound we want to go for.” So we all really like them.JENZiiH: I really like visual kei from around 2006.

-What inspires your songs?YOHIO: I think it’s different for each song, actually.JENZiiH: Yeah.YOHIO: Sometimes you don’t even know what you’re doing and it just comes to be something that you didn’t expect, like our next single. All of its three songs were not planned at all.JENZiiH: They’re just feelings.YOHIO: They were just felt and then made. The title track, “Within the Void,” has so many different aspects and parts that it’s hard to classify it as one type of song.JENZiiH: I would say the second song [Abyss of Veiled Truth] is very 2006 v-kei. It has that special feeling from that era.

YOHIO: Even the mixing is old school, like old Girugamesh or A9. We also call it “The Wine Song.” The beginning of the song is very modern, symphonic, a bit technical, but then it fades out in a very atmospheric feel. Guitars, vocals, and nothing else. Then it builds up to a very old school chorus.
The third song [新世界 (Shinsekai)] was written by JENZiiH. Most of the vocals are in Japanese.JENZiiH: There are a lot of feelings in it.tias: The chorus is really catchy.JENZiiH: I think the song itself is really powerful.YOHIO: Yeah, it is. I think that chorus is the one that’s going to stick in your mind.
Also, we owe an explanation for the very long postponement of this release. It’s a very technical issue. The songs are already recorded, mastered, and finished. The music video has also been finished months ago. Everything was done before we moved.
We haven’t released our singles physically before. People don’t buy CDs in the West. It’s very easy to do a digital release, but physical distribution is harder, especially when you’re a foreigner in Japan. It takes much longer. I’ve been going to a lot of meetings and comparing different methods of distribution. There’s been a lot of struggle to get this release out. We’ve found a way to do it now, though. Hopefully, it will be released in October. It will be released physically in Japan and digitally worldwide.

-Finally, could you give us a message for your fans and our readers at S-T.net?tias: Sorry about the delayed single.YOHIO: We’re struggling, but we will also have another announcement very soon. It’s the reason for our struggle the past few weeks. We will get out from it and we will come out stronger.JENZiiH: Thanks for your support. We love you!

Interview by Shannon*This interview was conducted in cooperation with Vkei-Guide.

THE BLACK SWAN has continued to rise in the ranks of the visual kei industry. After the release of their first full album “OUSIA,” they pulled off a successful one-man show in TSUTAYA O-WEST. Now, they’re on the verge of releasing their latest single with an introspective theme, “PERSONA.”

In our latest interview with THE BLACK SWAN, you can read about their thoughts on the aftermath of “OUSIA” and their first one-man, the nitty gritty details of the creation process of “PERSONA,” and–of course–Kotetsu the Cat.

Read until the end to find out how to win a cool prize!

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–The last time we talked was before the release of your first full album, “OUSIA.” What was the reaction like from your overseas fans?Jin: We’re not really sure what our fans overseas think.Rena: When you take the language barrier into account, we just hope we’re able to reach them.

-What about your fans in Japan?Rena: Well, it’s still continuing to sell, so I suppose that’s a good reaction.Jin: There are a lot of negative emotions on the album, so I think it will take some people a while to come to enjoy it. I hope they’ll listen to it over and over until they uncover the deeper messages hidden in the music.

-Why did you decide to have different tracklists for Type A and Type B?Jin: Basically, we wanted each type to leave a different impression. We did that by changing the order of the songs. In the end, though, both of them depict the meaning behind “OUSIA.”

Vo. Jin

-Which type do you prefer?Jin: Actually, Type B’s tracklist order is the one we originally decided upon. Type A feels a bit different from that original story. Surprisingly, though, I’ve heard a lot of fans say they prefer Type A.Rena: Wow, really?Itsuki: I really like Type B. There are some songs that are only included on Type B. It’s not just that the song order is different. I think that gives the album as a whole a different meaning from Type A. They’re almost completely different.Rena: For me, it’s not really a question of which one I like more.Itsuki: Oh, I guess that’s also true. (laughs)Rena: We decided the track order for each type together, but I’ve only listened to Type B since it was released.

-Oh, really?Rena: We listened and discussed the track order for Type A over and over, to the point where we got sick of it and just went with that final order.Itsuki: We had so many meetings about the tracklists until we came to an agreement on them. So, we have listened to the songs a lot. A lot.Makoto: I personally like Type B. Jin said this already, but we had more of a reaction from Type A. I think it’s because our fans realized it’s not a song order we’d normally go with. They praised us saying they haven’t heard many albums like it before.Len: I’ve only listened to Type B. I like it because there are songs that are only included on that type, and I like the overall feeling of it.

-You also had a one-man show at TSUTAYA O-WEST in June. How did that go?Jin: I think we were able to pull off what we set out to do. It was a good test of our ability to concentrate and prepare for something, and I think we did a great job.
There were good parts and bad parts, but we’ll work to improve those bad parts until our next one-man.Itsuki: We thought a lot about how to fuse our usual performance style with a performance based on background video footage. Maybe if we worked more on combining those two styles, we could have had a better show. I think it was fairly good for our first try, but the feedback we received was a little different.
We’re not sure if we’ll try using video footage again at our next one-man in November. We might do something completely different. If we do end up using video, though, I vow that we will make it better.

Gt. Itsuki

Makoto: There aren’t many bands that play shows heavy on video footage, so I think we were able to show the fans something new. It was a bit different from the force of our usual shows. We worked really hard on preparing for the show, so it gave us a sense of accomplishment when it was all over. For our next O-WEST one-man, I want to achieve something even greater.Rena: I had a lot of fun. But, of course, a good show isn’t just about having fun. The reaction we received from fans in regards to that was a bit different. It wasn’t like they said it was a bad show, but I think there’s more we can do for the fans at our next O-WEST one-man.Len: In technical terms, I think we did everything we set out to do. There weren’t any big issues. In terms of the performance itself, I think we were slightly off. Striking that balance [between a video performance and our normal performance style] proved to be difficult. I don’t think it was necessarily a bad show, but I think we should try harder next time.

-Your next single, “PERSONA,” will be released on October 19th. Could you tell us a bit about the songs included on the release?Jin: We rearranged the title track, “PERSONA,” over and over. We did with the other tracks as well. We wanted to strike a balance between something with force and something easy to listen to. This is the first time we’ve made all of the songs between types A and B based on the same concept (“persona”).Rena: They’re all “PERSONA,” but they’re like different forms of it.

-So, what kind of concept is “PERSONA” based on?Jin: I wanted to express the concept of humanity on a deeper level. The title track, “PERSONA,” is about humanity in general and the masks we normally wear as humans. The mask is what we show the outside world in different situations, but it’s not usually the same as what’s inside of us. It’s the part of us that we feel like we can’t show to other people.

-Does your latest artist photo reflect that concept as well?Jin: Yes, they’re characters from the “PERSONA” music video. It shows the members of THE BLACK SWAN playing a normal show, and then these black figures come out of them. They’re depictions of the somewhat frightening and dark side of us.Itsuki: We didn’t come up with this concept after the fact; we came up with the image and concept before arranging the songs.

-How did the recording for this single go? Was anything different from your usual recording process?Jin: We did a lot of rearranging.

-Did it end up sounding completely different from the original demo?Itsuki: It’s completely different. You could say it’s a different song entirely and you wouldn’t be wrong. It’s a demo that I originally wrote. Then it was rearranged by all the members in the band. I think we only made it better, though.
Most of the songs we’ve made until now have been rearrangements of parts of the song. This time, there were parts that we completely remade from zero. I think that’s what was the most different for this recording.Rena: I think the bass has a much rawer sound than our usual songs. It’s not any lower sound-wise, but there are parts that diverge from the normal beat and sound. I tried to use that as a way to express the concept of “PERSONA,” humanity. I think it gives the song more force.

Gt. Makoto

-Now it’s time for the Kotetsu Corner!…Rena: Okay, then the rest of us are going home. (laughs)

-…Len and Kotetsu have been appearing on Japanese television on a monthly basis. Has this continued to have an effect on THE BLACK SWAN’s popularity?Rena: Len has almost 100,000 followers on Twitter.Len: It definitely has an influence on the band. I’m not sure what kind of influence, though.Itsuki: We’ve noticed an increase in fans from different regions in Japan.Rena: There are still a lot of people that come to me and say, “I heard about you from watching Kotetsu!” I’m not sure why they come up to me, though. (laughs)Len: I’m glad people have heard of us and listen to our music [because of Kotetsu]. It gives them the chance to discover music that they might not have realized they like.Rena: Yeah, it gives them the chance to meet people like me. You don’t meet human beings like me everyday. (laughs)

-Len, we heard you went to Texas recently. How did that opportunity come about?Len: It was for a TV program. It was a total surprise. They came to me and said they wanted me to go somewhere with them to film a program. I agreed and said, “Okay, where?” They said, “America.” I was like, “America!?” It was to look at different kinds of cats in America and film me playing with them.

-But why in Texas?Len: There are some cat breeders there [that the television program knew about]. There’s also a drummer there like me who owns a cat. They wanted me to meet him. We played drums together.

-Did you have fun?Len: It was so much fun! I want to live in America now! I visited Austin, where there’s a lot of music.

-Tell us about one memorable thing that happened to you during the trip.Len: Well, there was that time at customs and immigration… I can’t speak English at all. I really had to use the bathroom when we were waiting in line, but I didn’t know how to say that in English. I was like, “What should I do!?” When I couldn’t hold it any longer, I turned to someone and said, “[in English] Uh, excuse me…” I didn’t know how to say ‘toilet’ in English, so I just said, “Toire! Toire!” They said, “Toilet? Oh, yeah,” and showed me where the bathroom was. [in English] I want toilet! (laughs)Itsuki: [in English] Bathroom? Restroom?

-Either is fine! (laughs) So, Len, what did you think of American people?Len: They’re awesome! I really like their character. In neighborhoods, where a lot of people were walking their dogs or just outside, everyone greets each other. It doesn’t matter if you’re a stranger. That almost never happens in Japan.Rena: Yeah, it if happened in Japan, you’d think they were a weirdo. (laughs)Len: It made me a little envious, honestly. I liked that. I think their style is a lot freer than Japan, too. A lot of people have tattoos and things that they can show freely.*

*Author’s note: Tattoos in Japan are still widely seen as taboo, and are forbidden to be shown in many places such as gyms, beaches, and workplaces.

Ba. Rena

-Do the other members want to visit America, too?Itsuki: I want to visit Los Angeles.

-Do you have plans as THE BLACK SWAN to play in America?Itsuki: If you call us!Len: I want to go back!!!Rena: Let’s go to Las Vegas.

-What can we expect from THE BLACK SWAN in the near future?Itsuki: We can’t predict how things will be [in the near future], but we don’t have any plans right now to change. Whatever we do, it will be interesting.Jin: We’ll work together as a band to develop into something more and more interesting. We want to continue to improve.

-Finally, please give a message to your fans and readers at S-T.net.Jin: I know there are a lot of fans overseas that like all different kinds of visual kei, and I know it’s difficult to cross over the sea to come and see us, but I hope that you can come see us at least once while we’re alive.Makoto: A lot of overseas fans communicate with us via Twitter and see our news on the Internet, but I want you to come see us live if you can.Rena: I’m not sure what our band will become in the future and how long we’ll continue, but I know that I want to keep going for as long as we possibly can. I hope you can come see us. Please continue to give us your support.Itsuki: I know it’s difficult to come to Japan if you’re currently living overseas, but if you do, we’ll use that as the motivation to try going overseas ourselves. Please support us.Len: I’ll harness the power of cats to be able to go overseas.

Dr. Len

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You can read the details released so far on “PERSONA” (including pre-order links) in our previous article.

In traditional S-T style, we’re giving away two signed autograph boards to two lucky readers. Enter our contest using any or all of the entry methods offered on our Rafflecopter for your chance to win. The deadline is October 5th at 11:59PM (EST).

It’s safe to say that not many of our readers have heard of a new band called ƵMØRA. While they haven’t even played a live show yet, they’ve released two digital singles and have a few more lined up. You may recognize their leader and bassist, $ali, from IX-NINE- (who we’ve interviewed a couple oftimes before)!

ƵMØRA is unique in the scene in that its members are split up between Japan and Poland – which explains why they haven’t performed on stage yet.

Instead of a standard introduction post, we decided to jump straight into an interview with them. Learn all the basics about this new band that defines the word “borderless.”

-Could you start by introducing each member to us?$ali: I’m the leader and bassist, $ali.Naoki: I’m the drummer, Naoki.$ali: There’s also Ayo on vocals, Domi and Hrafn on guitar, and PRINC3 on program/synth. There are six of us in total.

-How did you all meet?$ali: I went to Poland this past May to play a show with IX-NINE-. They were performers in the other bands I was playing with. I approached the members specifically after going out with them once or twice. Then started talking about forming a band.

-How do you communicate? Do you speak in English? Japanese? Polish?$ali: I can’t speak much more than a bare minimum of English, so we usually use an interpreter.
Domi also speaks a fair bit of Japanese, so when I can’t convey something clearly enough, I’ll send it to him in Japanese and then he’ll convey it to the others.Naoki: Sometimes it’s a mix of Polish, English, and Japanese.$ali: I guess you could call us a borderless band in more than just a musical sense.

-From what kinds of music do you draw influence?Naoki: I enjoy visual kei music.$ali: Our vocalist Ayo likes a really wide range of music and uses those influences to create her own vocal style. She’s also pretty fluent in Korean and likes Japanese, so on that front, her pronunciation is also really good. You can’t tell she’s not a native Japanese speaker at first just by listening to her.
The voice recordings she sends me don’t always sound like rock, so you can tell just by her voice that she’s influenced by a wide variety of musical styles.
Domi and PRINC3 also listen to visual kei, like the GazettE. He and Hrafn have also been getting into some heavier music lately.
Hrafn is also a fan of black metal, like Behemoth. He also likes DIR EN GREY.

-Since most of the members live in Poland and you live in Japan, how do you create songs together? Do you send samples back and forth?$ali: Almost everyone in the band writes songs. One member will upload a song they’ve created, and I’ll rearrange the parts that I want to rearrange. Then the other members will rearrange the parts that they want to rearrange. The final product is basically a culmination of everyone’s adjustments to the original song.

-Wow, that’s pretty impressive!$ali: I’m not sure if there are a lot of other bands besides us that work this way.

-Do you write songs, too, Naoki?Naoki: Yes.$ali: The song we’re planning to release in November is one that he originally wrote. It’s titled Sakura.

-Do you find it difficult?$ali: You know, I thought it would be difficult at first, but since the members and I are pretty straightforward about what we think works and what doesn’t, it’s easier than you’d think. They also have a lot of motivation. That’s probably the most important thing.

-You’re currently in the midst of a four-month consecutive release series. You’ve already released one track, “Kirameki,” correct?$ali: Yes. We originally planned on releasing it as an EP, but we write a lot of songs at a surprisingly fast rate, so we decided it might be better to release a full-length album instead.

-How will the rest of that series play out?$ali: We’ll have one release per month until December, and then we’re planning on playing a show.

-Wow, a show? Where?$ali: In Poland.

-Could you tell us about the other releases planned?$ali: Our next one planned is Witchcraft. PRINC3 originally created this song. Then Domi added the guitar parts. It has a loud rock song that I wouldn’t normally think of writing, so the bass part ended up being really interesting to play. The vocals are also really fascinating.
The other song we’re releasing is one that I created a long time ago. It has a gothic feel to it, with violins, violas, and cello. It sounds like it could be on a movie soundtrack.
Our October release is the one that Naoki created, Sakura.
One song we’ll release in November is one of Domi’s songs. It doesn’t have a title yet. It includes a lot of Japanese-inspired elements that make it sound mysterious, heavy, and deep at the same time.
The other one is another one of mine. It’s also dark, and the lyrics are in Japanese.

-What do you hope to achieve as ƵMØRA?$ali: I don’t want us to become a band that just plays shows and releases music. I want to go back to Poland and play shows with them, and I also want the members to come here [to Japan] to play. I want us to be a band that can achieve what seems impossible.Naoki: I want ƵMØRA to be famous. I want to play shows all over the world.

-Lastly, please give a message to all of our readers at S-T.net.$ali: There aren’t many other bands like us, in both our music and our activities. I definitely think we’ll capture your interest, so check us out.
We’ll do our best to play shows near you. Please come see us when we do.

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We hope we’ve piqued your interest in ƵMØRA. Check their official website and their social media accounts for all you need to know about the band’s next move.

Psycho le Cému has been a huge name in the visual kei industry worldwide ever since visual kei’s overseas boom in the early 2000’s. Hearts were broken when they went on activity pause, and hope was renewed with their activity restart last year. Since then, the members have been working harder than ever, dividing their energy between PLC and a slew of other band activities that each member participates in.

It’s only a few days before Psycho le Cému heads to Paris for Japan Expo 2016, their first Europe performance. They’ll be one of many to represent unique aspects of Japanese culture to Japan lovers in Paris. In this interview, the band talks about their activity restart, their new album, and their preparations for Japan Expo.

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-Since this is our first interview with Psycho le Cému, could you please introduce each member?Aya: I’m Aya on guitar. I also dance sometimes.Lida: I’m Lida, also on guitar. I pretty much only play guitar.Seek: I’m Seek, the bassist. I’m the one who’s always wearing off-the-wall cosplay.

-It has been a little over a year since your activity restart. How has it been so far?Seek: We were able to restart activities and reaffirm our relationship as band members right in time for our 15th anniversary. We had a lot of fans waiting for us, so we really wanted to release some new CD’s. Over this past year, we’ve released 2 new singles and are on the verge of releasing a new album on August 17th.

-Have you noticed any big differences between your activities before the activity pause and after the restart?Seek: Well, all of the members have been involved in different musical activities since the activity pause, so we’ve had the chance to improve our skills. We’ve been using those new and improved skills to take the next big step as Psycho le Cému.Aya: At the same time, what’s really important to us hasn’t changed.Seek: We’ve known each other since we were very young. We grew up in the same area of Japan and came to Tokyo together, so we’re very close. Even during our activity pause, we often went out to eat. We never felt like we were really apart. We’re like family.Aya: I think we’ve grown up a bit, though. Now we can stand on our own.Lida: Since our activity reboot, I think each of our roles on stage have taken on a new meaning. It’s helped improve the quality of our shows.

AYA and DAISHI

-Almost all of the members are also involved in other bands like Dacco, Mix Speaker’s Inc, SiXX, and THE BEETHOVEN. How do you balance your activities in Psycho le Cému with other bands?Seek: We discuss Psycho le Cému’s schedule as a team. We don’t want to cut down on our activities in other bands just because Psycho le Cému restarted, so we’ve had to put forth more effort than we ever have before. Our managers help us keep our schedule as smooth as possible.Lida: We were all happy when Psycho le Cému was able to restart, but like Seek said, we decided to try our best in all of our bands instead of cutting down on non-PLC activities.

-Do you find that difficult?Lida: Personally, I don’t find my work in other bands all that difficult, so it wasn’t that much of a stretch for me to add Psycho le Cému’s activities.Seek: He’s starting to getting a bit old, though…I’m a little worried about him… (members laugh)Aya: Now we’re working at least four times harder than ever.

-Like you mentioned before, you’re releasing your first new album in 10 years, “NOW AND THEN ~THE WORLD~”, will on August 17th. It includes a total of 12 tracks, including remakes of old songs and some brand new songs. How do the remakes sound compared to the original?Seek: The remakes are probably the songs that our oldest fans will be sensitive about. We don’t want people to think, “Psycho le Cému may have restarted, but their older songs are the best.”Aya: At the same time, we made a lot of those songs when we were in our 20’s, and we still like them. I think we’ve leveled up in terms of our musical skills, though.Seek: I think this topic comes up a lot when bands restart; it’s true that we have improved our musical skills as we continued playing music [in other bands], but we also don’t want to lose the vigor we had when we were younger.
We tried to make this album into something that would sound like you’re listening to it live. There are a lot of Psycho le Cému fans that just listen to our music, but I believe we’re a band that is best to see live. So we produced and rearranged our songs so that fans can get a taste of what we’re like live. Look forward to it.Lida: Some of the songs on it are over 10 years old, and there are ones that we play a lot at shows. That’s why we thought it would make sense to make the album with our performance style in mind. Along with the older songs, we want to show people what Psycho le Cému is like now, both for our older fans and for a new generation of fans. Because of this, we also included a song that I believe represents us as a band.

Seek and Lida

-What do the new songs sound like?Seek: The new songs were difficult to make… Musically, we’re a band that makes a lot of different kinds of music. Sometimes we take a concert approach to them, creating them so that we can dance a certain way to them. We also have some heavier songs, and some J-pop songs that emphasize melody. Our new songs are also going to be that varied, to the point where we feel like it’s a shame that there are only 12 tracks total on the album. It was a tough choice, wasn’t it?Lida: Yeah, it was tough. We also started working with a new producer for the album, and they helped us take a more fresh and new approach to our songs.Seek: I think you can hear how much each member has improved as songwriters, too. You wrote a track for the first time on the album, right, Aya?Aya: Oh, that’s right.Seek: Psycho le Cému has been together for 16 years, and one of the songs on there was written by Aya for the first time.Aya: Yeah. It’s not a typical Psycho le Cému song, though. It has a newer kind of feeling. It’s a bit poppy.

-You’re attending this year’s Japan Expo in Paris. You’ve performed overseas before, but this will be your first performance in Europe. What kind of show do you want to put on? Seek: Well, Japan Expo will be like an event show, not like a solo show. And Psycho le Cému is known for stealing the show at events. We get the crowd going crazy. We’re hoping to be able to do that at Japan Expo as well.Lida: Since Japan Expo is all about introducing all kinds of Japanese culture (not just music), we’d also like to use our appearance and performance style to get more people interested in knowing more about Japan.Aya: Our shows are more like a play than a typical concert. We’d like to try our hand at using French during the show.

-Will do you your MCs in French? Seek: We’re not sure yet. You’d think DAISHI would handle the MC’s since he’s the vocalist, but he usually says that he doesn’t want to do that. That’s what he was like for our event in Taiwan. He says, “Seek, you do it.” (laughs)Aya: We want to include Japanese elements, but we also want people to enjoy the show without worrying about language. Music is the universal language, you know.Lida: I thought about trying my hand at French as well, but I know that there are a lot of fans over there that study Japanese at school or even by studying our lyrics. We’ve heard that it’s best to play there like we play in Japan.Seek: I played in France with another band. Even before the show started, the crowd’s volume was amazing. I couldn’t hear the introduction music at all. I’m making it louder this time. (laughs)

-Will you play any of the new songs at Japan Expo? Seek: We thought a lot about this. We’re curious about just how much of our music that our fan base in France is familiar with. If there are fans that have known about us for a long time, then we’d like to play older songs for them. At the same time, we also want to show them what we’re like now.

-Do you have any other overseas plans scheduled for the near future? Aya: If we can, we’d like to do a lot of places.Seek: We’ve been talking about wanting to branch out more overseas. We’ve had the opportunity to play American tours in the past, but there are a lot of places with a lot of fans we want to go to, like South America and Europe.Aya: I also want to revisit places we’ve played in before: America, Taiwan, France…Seek: When Japanese bands play overseas, they usually say “We’ll come back!” But we want to make good on our word and go back to those places.

-Lastly, please give us a message for all of your fans and the readers at S-T.net. Aya: I think there will be many people who are seeing us live for the first time. You must have all different kinds of expectations. We want to do all we can to meet those expectations. Look forward to it!Lida: Japan Expo will mark our first show in Europe. We’d like to pull it off and use that experience to be able to play anywhere in the world. Look forward to our show at Japan Expo!Seek: For the readers, thank you for reading all the way to the end. I’m the one with the weirdest costumes. You might wonder if we can even speak, with the way I dress, but I’m not actually like that in real life. (members laugh)
There are a lot to enjoy about our shows besides music, but our music is also an important part to enjoy. All you need to know about the world of Psycho le Cému is to see us live once. Come and see our world.

Psycho le Cému

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Japan Expo 2016 takes place Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center in Paris, France. Psycho le Cému will be attending all three days of the convention, July 7-9. For more details on their schedule and where to get tickets, check out Japan Expo’s official website.

We were both surprised and excited to hear that the “godfather of visual kei” Dynamite Tommy and VELVET EDEN’s DaDa were attending this year’s Anime Expo together. For what, you may ask? To officially debut KOMACHI2266531DarkLolita, a Gothic Lolita fashion brand that is entirely plus size.

In this interview, you’ll learn about the origin of KOMACHI, the prolific duo’s plans for AX2016, and some insight into Dynamite Tommy’s outlook on overseas fans.

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Dynamite Tommy and DaDa at AX2016: “This is War”

-What is the origin of the brand name KOMACHI2266531DarkLolita (specifically the numbers)?DaDa: There isn’t any specific meaning. I just picked numbers that I like.

-How long did the formation of the brand take until its opening?DaDa: About one year.

-From where do you draw inspirations for the designs?DaDa: I’ve designed many costumes for my own bands in the past. KOMACHI is like an extension of that experience. The line not only contains elements of Gothic Lolita style – it has some dark and rock elements mixed in as well.

DaDa, the designer

-How long do the designs typically take to complete?DaDa: They can take as little as a few minutes or a full day at the most.

-What is your favorite piece in the collection so far?DaDa: I like all of them.

-We know that you have yet to officially debut at Anime Expo, but what kind of reaction do you expect?DaDa: I hope that people will see KOMACHI as a fresh new approach in Gothic Lolita fashion.

-How did the opportunity to go to Anime Expo come about?DaDa: I was asked by my company if I was interested in designing clothing instead of just graphic design for bands like DIR EN GREY.Dynamite Tommy: I’ve been a long-time fan of anime and I’ve worked in the anime industry before, so that’s what sparked my interest in Anime Expo. I had the opportunity to chat with Marc at a previous Anime Expo. That’s when he invited me to attend as a guest. I accepted on the spot.

-KOMACHI features a very niche market—plus size Gothic Lolita fashion. What made you decide to target such a niche market, and how do you envision the brand’s development?Dynamite Tommy: When our staff attended last year’s Anime Expo, they were told by a lot of people, “I want to wear Japanese clothes, but they don’t fit me.”
I really wanted to do something for them, but I wasn’t ready to take action.
Shortly after, I heard a famous brand say that since anything over a size 10 in women’s clothing wasn’t considered desirable, they wouldn’t make anything larger than a size 10. That’s when I resolved to make a brand that would go against these arrogant and selective brands.
This is war.

-As the owner of Free Will and president of sun krad, along with your music producing activities, you’re largely associated with the music industry. That’s why we were a bit surprised when we heard you were the owner of KOMACHI. What made you decide to start this project?Dynamite Tommy: I’ve always believed that music sends powerful messages. I also believe it’s a good way to send messages to a lot of people.
After noticing the phenomenon that I described in the previous question, I realized that there’s also a need for the development of plus size brands. I think that will help send an important message to society.

The godfather of visual kei

-Many visual kei bands that are popular overseas do little to cater to their overseas fans. In contrast, some of the bands you produce (namely DIR EN GREY) and KOMACHI offer a lot to overseas fans, including updated websites in English, translated lyrics, overseas appearances, etc. What are some of the pros and cons of going the extra mile for overseas fans?Dynamite Tommy: I think offering these services to overseas fans is natural for artists and those involved in the industry that believe, “If that’s what they think is necessary, then I want to do all I can to provide for them.” These opportunities to help overseas fans have allowed me to experience all different types of cultures as a result.
Something that I find difficult is when the customs I’m used to don’t correspond to other cultures’ customs. However, that struggle helps me to learn, so I look at that as more of a pro than a con.

-We heard you’re bringing some old Free Will merchandise to Anime Expo with you. Can you give us any hints as to what you’re specifically bringing? Any rare finds?Dynamite Tommy: I want to bring some things like old DIR EN GREY t-shirts. I think those are pretty rare. Check out my Instagram (@dynamitetommy_official) for all merchandise photos!

-Finally, please give us a message to your fans and the readers at S-T.net.DaDa: I’ve been in the visual kei scene as a gothic artist for 19 years. That visual image and fashion has been very important to me. I’ve used that experience to make clothing not only for my own band, but for everyone. I’ll be bringing that with me to L.A. Please look forward to it.Dynamite Tommy: Feel free to talk to me at Anime Expo. Let’s start something big together!

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A glimpse at Dynamite Tommy’s Instagram will tell you that he’s definitely not just bringing DIR EN GREY merchandise – he’s also bringing goods from bands like Blu-BiLLioN, BAROQUE, MERRY, and more. This is an opportunity that sun krad fans do not want to miss.

Are you going to AX2016? How did you like the interview? Let us know with a comment or two!

Today, we have an interview for you that may have some of our regular readers tilting your heads, but we think it’s worth it. Kerbera is a rock band from Sweden with a few visual roots. You may recognize leader and vocalist Seike from his time in Seremedy, one of the more notable overseas visual kei bands. The group headed to Japan earlier this month for a week packed with concerts, events, and sightseeing. S-T.net took this rare opportunity to discuss the band’s time in Japan, their thoughts on the visual kei scene, and an organization named Visual Unite.

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-Since this is our first interview with Kerbera, could you start by introducing each member?Seike: I’m Seike, and I am the vocalist.Freddy: My name is Freddy. I play bass and sing.Dave: I’m Dave, and I just play guitar.Tawin: I’m Tawin, and I make the most noise in the band. I play drums.Zave: I’m Zave. I play guitar and backing vocals.

-How did you meet and decide to form a band?Seike: I had a band before named Seremedy. When we disbanded, I decided to start another project. That’s how the band started with its first members. Freddy and I knew each other from way back. I wanted to make a real visual kei band, but it was hard to find really visual-inspired members. So, we decided to search for musically talented members instead.Zave: I found a Facebook post saying, “I’m looking for band members,” so I sent in my YouTube videos.Tawin: About half a year ago, I saw a Facebook post that had like 50 comments saying, “I’m a drummer and I want to be in the band! Please contact me.” I thought, “This band probably already has a drummer,” but I sent a message to Seike, we met up, and I joined.Dave: I joined maybe 2 or 3 months ago. I sort of knew Seike from about one and a half years ago.Seike: But we didn’t really know each other. He just shows up to parties. (laughs) I thought, “He’s cute, so he can join.”Zave: When I first met him, we talked about music theory and stuff. I asked him if he wanted to join the band.Dave: I said no at first, but I gave it a try and I really found my place in there. I really enjoy playing with these guys. They’re such good people and musicians.

-Have the fans welcomed you so far?Dave: Yeah. There are some die-hard fans that liked a picture [Seike] posted immediately, so he told me, “Get Twitter now.” I made a Twitter account and got maybe 150 followers in the first day.Seike: We have very dedicated fans. I’m very proud of them. It’s a little unusual to get this kind of fan base in Sweden.

-You said you wanted to start as a visual kei band. So, what is Kerbera’s association with visual kei? What are some of your visual and musical inspirations?Seike: When it comes to visual kei, I’m more inspired by the idea of expressing yourself visually. That’s what I love about the visual kei genre. I also love that their fans are really dedicated. I don’t see that in other genres in the same way. I also draw from some of the same inspirations as visual kei artists themselves, like Marilyn Manson.
When it comes to the band, our inspiration is more fluid. It’s more like, “Do we enjoy playing this?”Dave: Everyone has different backgrounds in music.Seike: Only me and Freddy have that sort of visual background.Dave: I’ve listened to maybe one or two visual kei bands in my entire life. I’ve found a lot of new bands I like since coming to Japan. At first I thought the genre was all about looks, but I think bands like the GazettE have awesome music. MEJIBRAY is also really good.Seike: MiA is a good friend of mind and we played at the same festival on our first day. It was nice to introduce them to the whole thing.Dave: It was kind of like our introduction to visual kei.Zave: I can definitely see the appeal of it now, thanks to Seike.Freddy: As for our musical inspiration, I think what really inspires me and Zave for this band is post-rock.Seike: We also focus on clean vocals and making it sound melodic and catchy. We try to make music that not only listeners will be inspired by, but also that other musicians will be inspired by.Freddy: One of my biggest inspirations is Michael Jackson. I love his melodies.

-Do you all write songs together?Freddy: Not really.Zave: Our first EP was co-written, but most of our latest album was musically written by Freddy and lyrically by both Freddy and Seike.

-Speaking of your latest album, you just released “People Like You.” Could you tell us the inspiration behind it and the creation process?Freddy: I just kind of sit in my room and produce a bunch of demos.Zave: This guy is sick. There was one week he wrote about 5 or 6 songs, and they were all album material.Seike: We couldn’t even put all the good songs on the album.Freddy: Some of the songs were a bit older. I wrote them way, way back, before Kerbera. As for the composition process, I can’t really say much. It just kind of happens. I start with guitar and add on to that. Everything kind of creates itself.Seike: My inspiration when it came to the lyrics was that I was having a really hard time. Most of the lyrics were my way of processing the bad times. That sounds depressing, but it was my way to let out emotion.

-You’ve been in Japan for almost a week not with a show or event planned for every day. How has it been so far?Dave: Stressful.Seike: I like it, but I’ve been very sick. It sucks.

-Are there any huge differences between how you play shows here versus how you play in Sweden?Everyone: Yes.Seike: It’s hard to set up all of the shows.Zave: Between bands, we have like 15 minutes. It’s really hectic. And sometimes we start playing really early. We’re used to starting at maybe 7 or 8pm.Seike: We also had more playing time, but I guess that’s kind of the charm here. Fans from a lot of different bands mix. That’s a good thing, but it’s harder to show your absolute best when everything is so hectic. It’s good practice, though.Zave: We’ve learned a lot since the first show. Now we know how to set up our things really fast.Freddy: I like that people stick around at shows. In Sweden, most people go to see the band they like and then leave.Zave: To add something negative: everyone smokes here. Backstage, in the concert hall, everywhere. It makes my throat hurt.Dave: It’s nice that there aren’t many people smoking inside, but once you get inside, it’s full of smoke.

-How’s your Japanese ability? Has the language barrier been an issue?Seike: My listening ability is good, but it’s hard to form sentences. I understand what people say, but it’s very hard when it comes to business talk. You have to be specific. I can get by, but it’s hard when we really need to translate something.Dave: We’ve gotten by pretty well since Seike has a lot of friends that speak both English and Japanese. We’re really lucky to have people that can translate for us.

-What’s the weirdest or best thing that’s happened so far on this trip?Tawin: The weirdest thing is the toilets.Seike: The other members are all very amazed that things play music.Dave: There’s music everywhere! Every subway station has its own melody. And the first day, we were at a crosswalk where there was a button. In Sweden, you press the button to cross, but I guess this button was for blind people. When it was time to cross, it played very loud music and I panicked.
I think the best part of the trip has been the culture. The people, the food, the nightlife…Zave: This city never sleeps.Freddy: Everything is so cozy! I really value coziness.Zave: I was pleasantly surprised to see that smoking isn’t allowed on the streets.Tawin: Also there’s no garbage on the street…Freddy: …but there are no trashcans!Seike: I like that Japan is very safe. There are no pickpockets.

-Do you have any other plans to come to Japan in the future?Everyone: Yes, of course. We love it here.Seike: I made some really good contacts here, and I have plans to come back to arrange future plans soon. We have plans in other countries as well.

-Seike, you’re also involved in an organization called Visual Unite. Could you explain its concept and what you hope to accomplish with it?Seike: Even since I was in Seremedy, I’ve been good at the management side of things. I realized my potential to make contacts and my desire to connect all of the visual kei bands in the world. There are so many. We want to help bands that were inspired by visual kei make their way to Japan. It’s for helping overseas visual kei bands spread around the world and to make people realize that visual kei is not only for Japanese musicians. On this tour, we brought my friends from Thailand and Indonesia over. In the future, we’d also like to help Japanese bands reach more of their overseas fans.

-It’s an unfortunate but common perception among visual kei fans that non-Japanese bands can’t be considered “visual kei.” Do you receive these kinds of negative comments? How do you deal with them?Zave: We’ve been getting comments that are like, “Who are these white people?”Seike: And it’s other white people that are saying this.Dave: It’s never Japanese people.Seike: I’ve personally been through it a lot since my time with Seremedy. A lot of people in the visual scene know about me. It’s never Japanese people [making negative comments] – they accept it and think it’s a good thing. They support it because they support the visual kei scene. So I think it’s very disrespectful that [foreign fans] don’t support us. My message to all of those people is that if you like the scene, you don’t have to like every band, but you should at least support the scene so that it can stay alive. You’re killing it by not supporting it. It needs to keep evolving or else people will lose interest and artists won’t be able to continue doing what they do.

-Switching to a more positive note, what’s the first thing you want to do (or eat) when you get back to Sweden?Dave: I wanna take a long bath.Zave: I want to drink the tap water.Seike: I want to be with my cats.Freddy: I want to sleep in my own bed.Tawin: I’m gonna eat Swedish pizza.

-Finally, could you give a message to our readers and your fans?Seike: I want to thank everyone for supporting us, especially for our first time in Japan. We’re very happy to be here. I hope you find interest in us and enjoy what we’re doing. Come see us if you can!Tawin: We don’t take it for granted that we can go to another country, so that’s a big thing for us.Zave: Thank you for that.Dave: Support your local scene!

Here’s an opportunity that S-T.net doesn’t get very often: an interview with a band that hasn’t even officially started activities. We had one such opportunity with BABY I LOVE YOU, a 4-member band set to debut at their first sponsored show on May 20th. They talk about how the members met each other and decided to form a band, details on their first releases, and plans for the near future. Read on if you’re curious about this openhearted band!

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BABY I LOVE YOU

-Since this is our first interview with BABY I LOVE YOU, could you start by introducing each member?KANADE: I’m KANADE, the vocalist.SOMALI: I’m SOMALI on guitar.RIO: I’m RIO on bass.SELLA: I’m SELLA, the drummer.

-Could you tell us about how you decided on your band name? Do you have a band concept?SELLA: SOMALI thought of the name and we all thought it was good.SOMALI: As for our band concept – it’s a common perception that Japanese people are shy, right? We can’t say the words “I love you” as easily as people from other cultures. That’s part of what I was thinking of when I thought of the name. It shows up in our band in other ways as well.

-How did the members meet and decide to form a band?SELLA: I met SOMALI first. We were in different bands before, but we decided to form a new band together and searched for members. That’s how I met KANADE. Then he introduced us to RIO.

-What were your first impressions of each other?SELLA: The first thing I thought about KANADE was, “Man, he’s tall.” (laughs) RIO is a pretty big guy, too.SOMALI: I thought RIO was the most visual-looking. I’ve been in bands for a long time, and when I met KANADE, I thought he was the perfect mix of all of the previous vocalists I’ve worked with.KANADE: I first met SELLA and SOMALI, and I thought they both seemed like talented people who made really cool songs. SELLA first came to watch me when I was in another band and then showed me his music. RIO did support for me in that band. I thought he was a good bass player, so I wanted to introduce him to the other members.RIO: I thought everyone seemed really strong…

-Your first show will be on 5/20. What kind of show can we expect?KANADE: I want to put on a show that everyone will enjoy and remember. I want everyone to think we’re cool.SOMALI: I want to appeal to everyone 100%. I want it to feel like an attraction at an amusement part; a “live attraction.”SELLA: I want to put on a memorable show. We’re going to give it our all.

-How would you describe your sound?SOMALI: We’re a bit metal.KANADE: Metal, gothic, symphonic, visual kei…SELLA: Love metal. But seriously, we try not to constrain ourselves to just one genre. We’d like to continue to evolve.

-You’re distributing 3 free songs at your 3 week consecutive sponsored shows. Can you tell us a bit about each song?

[Tears in…]SOMALI: It’s a song that you can enjoy at shows even if you’re hearing it for the first time. It’s like our welcome song. You’ll want to move around once you hear it.KANADE: The lyrics talk about how, despite there being a lot of pain and suffering in the world, there will be someone to save you. It’s about believing in the future.

[No one is immortal]KANADE: I wrote this song with this band and our beginning in mind. It’s about overcoming obstacles and moving towards the future.

[Withering color]SOMALI: Musically, this song is dark and full of tension. It’s also melodious.SELLA: It has a bit of a slower tempo than the others. It’s a song that people will probably quietly listen to at shows.

-Your first mini-album “eMiLy ~one’s mind~” will be released in August. We thought it was interesting that while the A-type includes 6 songs, the B-type only includes 3. Why is that?SELLA: We’ll be giving out the 3 songs not included on the B-type at our first shows, so we thought that those who get those 3 songs won’t need them.

-You have a lot planned for the beginning of your band activities, but what are you looking forward to the most?Everyone: Everything.SOMALI: We love everything coming up. We’d like to look forward to every event that’s coming up one by one.

-We know you just started as a band, but do you have any hopes to tour overseas someday? Where do you want to go?KANADE: We do want to. I’d like to go anywhere.SOMALI: A lot of music I’m interested in is based in Europe. I love Italian metal, like Rhapsody. I’d also like to go to Taiwan and America.SELLA: There are a lot of places that we want to go. I’ve been to America and Europe before. Japan is a bit small, so I like experiencing different cultures.

-Lastly, please give a message to all of our readers.KANADE: BABY I LOVE YOU.SOMALI: I’ve played in a lot of bands before. This is the first band I’ve been in with a name that has such an impact, so I hope people will listen to us and we can leave an impression.RIO: Please come to Japan. ♡SELLA: We hope that we can meet everyone around the world as a band someday.

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BABY I LOVE YOU will be kicking off activities on May 20th, where you can grab a free copy of “Tears in…” Check below for more details of their first sponsored shows, their free one-man, and their upcoming release in August.

JILUKA has been making waves in the indies visual kei scene since 2013 with their distinctly heavy sound and equally heavy use of English lyrics. They just celebrated the release of their fifth single, “Faizh,” on April 20th. In our exclusive interview with them, they talk about everything from JILUKA’s origins, musical influences, the creation process behind “Faizh,” and their outstanding English ability. Read until the end to find out how to win a special prize!

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JILUKA on “Faizh”

-Since this is our first time meeting, could you give us an introduction of each member?Sena: I’m Sena on guitar.Ricko: I’m Ricko on vocals.Boogie: I’m Boogie, the bassist.Zyean: I’m Zyean on drums.

-Could you also tell us the meaning behind JILUKA’s band name? Do you have a band concept?Sena: The meaning behind our band name is secret for now. As for our concept, we have a heavy metal sound that emphasizes catchy melodies and Ricko’s clean vocals.

-How did you all meet and decide to form a band?Sena: Ricko, Boogie, and I were playing together at first, then Zyean joined us to form the JILUKA we have today.

-What were your first impressions of each other?Sena: The member I met first was Ricko. I actually mistook him for someone else. I’d heard talk about this other bandman and thought it was him, but I was wrong. I thought he seemed like a good person either way.
As for our bassist, Boogie, I first saw him at a concert. I’d never met someone like him before. When I tried talking to him directly, though, he seemed like a good guy.
Zyean was, well…The first time I saw him, I was also at a livehouse. He emerged from this dark corner really slowly like a ghost. He seemed like a person that wasn’t very good at talking to people. But we decided to get together in the studio. At our recording studio, there’s a staircase. Most people will bounce a bit when they go downstairs, but the way he went downstairs made it seem like he was floating. Like a Japanese ninja. (laughs)

Vo. Ricko

Ricko: I first met Sena. He seemed like a smart guy that had a good head on his shoulders. He’s a real guitar head. Boogie seemed kind of like a party boy at first. I’m into partying too, so I thought we’d be able to get along well. As for Zyean, I just thought he seemed awesome. He made a great first impression and he has a nice way of talking. A heartwarming, nice guy.Boogie: I thought Ricko seemed like cheerful guy. Sena seemed like he had his act together. I thought I’d have a hard time communicating with Zyean when I first met him. He scared me a bit. It was like a horror movie.Zyean: I thought Ricko was a passionate person. I could tell from the first time I looked at him. He has a burning soul. Everyone has said this about Sena already, but I thought he was a pretty intellectual guy. Honestly, he intimidated me at first. He has a really distinct aura. I felt like he’d become someone great someday. As for Boogie, I met him because of JILUKA. I thought he was the one that would be difficult to communicate with. But after meeting him a few times, I realized he’s a good guy.

-We’d like to talk about your single that was just released on April 20, “Faizh.” It includes two tracks. Could you tell us a bit about each song?

[Faizh]

Sena: For this single, we started by thinking of ways in which we were going to sell it. We wanted to include some of our past PVs on the release. So, we’d figured out that much before we even made the songs. I felt a lot of pressure from having to think about that along with creating a good-quality song. But at the same time, I didn’t want to lose to myself. If the music isn’t interesting enough, people will start to think, “They were better before.” We want people to believe JILUKA is a band that will continue to evolve. That’s why I put a lot of effort into this song.
The title “Faizh” is based off of the Greek symbol Φ (phi). It basically means “absence.” It represents the loneliness or emptiness that everyone experiences. As for the spelling, “phi” is normally spelled with “ph,” but we wanted to be a little more original. So we changed “ph” to “f,” and then changed the end to “zh.”
There’s one more meaning to the title; “Faizh” will be our fifth release as JILUKA. “Faizh” sounds a little like “five.”
I’ll let the other members talk about the musical parts.Ricko: The main vocal features are the shouts, clean voice, and high tone. I tried to express the concept of “we are nothing” to fit the meaning of “Faizh.”Boogie: To express the heavy feeling of this song, I made the chorus [bass] catchy and emotional. I also tried to make it easy to listen to so that a lot of people will listen to it. It’s a combination of a loud sound and an emotional melody.Zyean: When we recorded drums for this, I wanted to make it sound more extreme than our previous releases. I consulted with Sena and the other members a lot before it came out like this. I tried to emphasize blast beats and double bass drums.

Gt. Sena

[Lethal Affliction]

Sena: “Faizh” is on the melodious side, but “Lethal Affliction” is more on the loud side. There’s a lot of heavy shouting. I think that’s one of our selling points, so I wanted to include something like that in this release. We made this song with a concert setting in mind, and also included a lot of technical phrases that I thought would annoy the other members. (laughs) I made the instrumental parts too difficult almost as a joke, but since we were on a tight schedule, those parts ended up being what we went with. We went all out.Ricko: The shouts are the focal point of this song. I put a lot of passion into them. Also…you can feel a (in English) punch.

-A punch?Sena: When we recorded vocals for this in the studio, the rest of us were in a place maybe 3m above him, but Ricko’s vocals still managed to shake the floor [like a punch].Boogie: We wrote “Lethal Affliction” while really conscious of how it would sound live, so I tried to make the bass line with phrases that were easy to listen to. It’s fun but difficult to play.Zyean: Like Sena said before, he wrote our parts way too difficult almost as a joke at first. When I heard the demo, I was like, “Are you kidding me right now? I can’t play this!” (laughs) It has a beat that’s really easy to get into, but it has a lot of minute phrases and techniques that are extremely challenging. I honestly wasn’t sure if I could manage it, but I try to overcome that feeling every time we release something new. It was a real challenge for me.

-Are you still worried about playing it live?Zyean: Honestly, yes. (members laugh) But I’m going to work at it until I can perfect it.

-Speaking of lives, you’ll be having your first one-man show in Ikebukuro next month. What kind of show are you planning?Sena: Since it’s our first one-man, I want to show everyone our energy and spirit.Ricko: I want everyone to know that we’re not just powerful and passionate, but that we can also put on a show that will move you emotionally.Boogie: We’re normally limited time-wise at event shows, so there are a lot of things we don’t have time to express on stage. I want to use our time at this one-man to express all that we’re capable of.Zyean: I’m stating the obvious here, but a JILUKA one-man means that it’s an event consisting only of JILUKA. I think there will be a lot of people coming to see us for the first time on that day. I want to leave an impression on them. Maybe some of them will think we’re cool; maybe some of them won’t like us. What bothers me the most is when they don’t think anything of us. So that’s why I want to leave some sort of impression on them, whether it’s good or bad.

-Most of our readers live overseas, so they haven’t had the opportunity to see JILUKA live. How would you describe a typical live to someone who’s never seen you?Sena: Passion is a key feature of our shows. There’s a lot about our shows that you can’t explain in just words, but if I had to put it into words, I’d say unity is also a big part of it. It’s like everyone at our shows is feeling the same thing. There are even moments where it seems like we can read each other’s thoughts. Overall, everyone has fun and it’s fun to watch. Also…(in English) punch.

Ba. Boogie

Ricko: I put forth a lot of passion. I think people who like heavy music will really like our shows.Sena: Even if you come to shows in a calm state of mind, Ricko’s vocals and performance style will amp you up.Boogie: You’ll definitely think JILUKA’s shows are cool even if you’ve never seen us before.Zyean: I think the members covered most of it already, so I’ll have to say…(in English) punch. Also, I think the music we play at shows is even better than what’s recorded on our CDs.

-Speaking of overseas fans, have you noticed a following from overseas fans on your social media (Twitter, YouTube, etc.)? Do you know where most of them live? Zyean: There are some in Germany.Sena: I’m not sure where they live, but a lot of the messages we get are in English. I can read those. But there are some messages that are in languages I can’t read.

-JILUKA has a lot of lyrics in English, right? Do you write those in Japanese first and then translate them to English?Sena: Yes, but instead of directly translating them, I choose phrases that sound good and rhyme cool while also staying close to the original meaning. It needs to fit the rhythm.

-Do you translate the lyrics yourselves?Sena: Yes. We try to. I’m not a good English speaker, but I like to read and write lyrics in English. I make sure to look up phrases that I don’t understand.

-Can any of the other members speak English?Ricko: (in English) Yes.Boogie: I can read simple English…Ricko: (in English) Cat. Dog.Boogie: …and I’d say my speaking ability is at a basic level.Zyean: Same here.

-Do you have any interest in touring overseas some day? Where do you want to go?Everyone: Yes!Ricko: I want to go to America, maybe Los Angeles.Sena: I want to visit Seattle. I went there once for a homestay visit when I was a student. I want to see my [homestay] parents again.Zyean: Las Vegas.

-Las Vegas? Are you a party person?Zyean: Yeah.

-So, most of you want to visit America. Any particular reason?Sena: The sound is really different there. The punch is different.

Dr. Zyean

-What bands are you influenced by?Zyean: Rings of Saturn. I also like EDM, 80’s metal like Metallica, and metalcore – like Bullet for My Valentine. A lot of my technique is influenced by death metal. There are too many to list, so I’ll just keep it at that.Sena: I listen to a lot of classical and world music. I think JILUKA’s music is influenced a lot by ethnic elements. I also like Kansas.Ricko: I’m into rap. I’m also really into Linkin Park. They’ve influenced me a lot.

Boogie: Slipknot got me into heavy music. Lately, I’ve been trying to listen to a lot of different types of music. When you listen to only one kind of music, your way of thinking becomes fixed. So, I’m trying to listen to a bit of everything.

-Lastly, please give a message to your fans and our readers at S-T.net.Sena: Thank you for reading this until the end. If reading this interview has piqued your interest in JILUKA at all, you can read more information about us on our official site. Please come see us live! Nationality doesn’t matter at our shows, so don’t hold back.Ricko: If you’re in Japan, stop by one of our concerts and see our burning soul.Boogie: I believe JILUKA’s music can be enjoyed by anyone, whether you’re from Japan or overseas. Please keep listening to our music, including “Faizh.”Zyean: I understand it’s probably difficult for overseas fans to come see us live, but you can still enjoy our music and PVs. We’ll try our best to translate and read all the comments we receive on Twitter, so please send us a lot!

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JILUKA’s first one-man will take place on May 21 (Sat) at Ikebukuro BlackHole. Tickets cost 3,500yen advance, 4,000yen same day. If you’re in Japan, definitely go and check them out.

In traditonal S-T.net spirit, we’re giving away two autograph boards signed by the members in a Rafflecopter giveaway! Enter using one or all of the entry methods listed below to increase your chances of winning. The deadline is May 7, 2016 at 11:59PM (EST).